This One Time at Band Camp
by NovaPhon
Summary: AU - Tenten went to the Tsunade School of Music to perfect her piano skills and to make some friends. She expected to meet new people and play for masters, to learn new skills and perform for great musicians from around the world. She never expected to fall in love.
1. Chapter 1

_How did I get myself into this? How is my heart breaking so quickly? This shouldn't be happening. I was supposed to have fun in camp. Not fall in love._

One

I sat outside the audition room, heart pounding, face flushing, and fingers trembling. Looking around, I spotted a couple other people; a boy to the left, practicing his violin; a couple to the right, waiting nervously for their child; a girl next to me, frantically filling out a form. I waited, trying to allow myself to relax, to listen to the beautiful music coming out of the audition room. Chopin filled my ears through the thin walls, and I instantly fell in love with the music. Suddenly, the playing ceased and silence replaced the sound of the piano. A couple minutes later, the door opened, and I looked up into the hazed eyes of a beautiful boy. He looked around for a few seconds and located the nervous couple. He whispered something to them and they nodded, looking even more worried than before.

"Miss Tenten?" A voice called.

I looked up to see a small, old lady, dressed a little too fancy, smiling at me, eyes crinkling at the corners. She beckoned me into the room, and, a little frazzled; I gathered all my papers and strode straight into my fate.

The inside of the room was more homely than I had imagined. Pictures of brightly smiling children adorned the walls and tiny trinkets and ornaments were scattered about the shelves. The piano was a nine foot grand, one of the more beautiful that I had seen.

"Please, sit down. Get comfortable. There is nothing to worry about."

I followed the old lady's orders and sat on the bench, facing her. She smiled a bit larger and asked me the basic questions of a music interview.

"How long have you been playing?"

"Seven years, ma'am."

"Any big accomplishments in the past year?"

"I have placed second in my division of State and won the Sonata Festival."

"And what will you be playing for me?"

"William Bolcom's _Old Adam_."

And I started. The piece felt familiar under my fingers, even if the piano did not. I closed my eyes, and let the piano guide me, and before I knew it, I was finished. I looked over at the little old lady to see her scribbling frantically on a yellow legal pad. She finished, looked at me, and tilted her head. She put a bony finger on her chin, and smiled at me again. She stood up and held out her hand.

"Well, it has been a pleasure listening to you, Miss Tenten. Results will be posted within the hour. If you do get in, please sign into Kushina Hall, as that is where you will be staying for the next couple of weeks. Also, your classes and lessons will be posted. If not, you did a wonderful job and we hope to see you again next year."

"Thank you, ma'am."

I shook her hand, took my things, and left the room. On my way out, I passed the girl who was filling out the sheet beside me. I gave her a small smile and whispered "good luck" as I passed her. She nodded in response, and I could see her shaking as she entered the room.

I walked to the elevator, pressed the down button, and waited for the cart to come up. As I stood there, I heard beautiful music from all around me, all mingled together. Beethoven mixed with Mozart, Chopin with Bach, and Liszt with Jackson Berkey. It was complete chaos, and yet, it all worked. And it all came together with the final _ding_ from the elevator. I stepped in, and pressed the ground floor button. The doors started closing, the fifth floor disappearing from sight, until someone yelled, "Hold the door!"

I quickly stuck my music in between the doors and watched as they bounced back to the fully open position, as if they had struck a spring. A tall, brown eyed boy with eyebrows a little too big stepped in, panting a bit, and smiled at me.

"Thanks," he said, breathing deeply, "I just got out of the audition room. Intense, right? I'm Lee, by the way, Rock Lee."

"Hi," I extended my hand, "I'm Tenten."

"Tenten, what a cool name!" He said, shaking it. "So what do you play? I'm a singer."

I found myself smiling as well. Lee's smile was infectious. "I play piano."

At this, his face lit up, and he began talking about how he always wanted to play the piano, but never got lessons. By the end of this, the elevator had reached the bottom and the doors slid open. We walked out, and he turned to me.

"So, do you have any plans until the results?"

"No, my parents dropped me off here, so I have nowhere to go until they announce."

"Cool! Then, do you want to hang out?"

"Sure."

We found a table and waited for the results. As we did, a few other people joined us; the girl that auditioned after me, whose name, I learned, was Sakura, a boy that played cello, Sasuke, two girls that both played violin, Matsuri and Hinata, and a percussionist, Kankuro.

We spoke for a while, forcing small talk and smiles, until a judge came out with the results. He posted lists around the lobby and everyone flocked to see them. I pushed my way through the crowd, being shoved, poked, and pinched, until I reached the front. I frantically searched the sheet for my name, until I found it, printed in small letters:

**Tenten Sujihiro-Piano (Lessons on Thursdays rm 419)**

"Tenten! You made it too! Dinner tonight with me and everyone else, okay?" Lee had run up to me and swooped me up in a bone crushing hug.

"Of course!" I choked out, prying his arms off of me. As I pushed him off, my eyes met again with the beautiful boy from the audition room, his unnervingly white eyes searching my soul. As I stared into his eyes, I could feel my heart beat a little faster, and an odd feeling crept up my stomach, as if it were fluttering.

I shook the odd feeling off and shoved my way out of the crowd to call my parents.

3


	2. Chapter 2

Two

Kushina Hall was utter chaos. Boys and girls everywhere were yelling, running, and pulling their suitcases to their new rooms. My family and I dragged my small, red suitcase to a large desk in the middle of the foyer, running over a couple toes on the way. The lady at the desk gave us a lipstick smeared smile and beckoned us closer.

"Name?"

"Tenten Sujihiro, piano."

She scanned the space in front of her and found a key, lanyard, card, a sheet of paper, and a music book.

"This is the key to your dorm, room 224, and your meal card. You will be rooming with Temari no Sabaku. I also gave you the chamber assignment sheet and music. Have a nice day." And with that, she shooed us away.

We walked up to the dorms, and outside the room marked 224, my parents gave me a small smile.

"Tenten, honey, this is where we take our leave."

"Call us every night, okay?"

"Don't forget your retainer."

"And practice hard!"

"And don't forget to have fun!"

And, with many kisses and hugs, my mother and father left. I was on my own for the next month.

I took a deep breath, wiped my mother's lipstick off of my cheek and forehead, turned the key, and entered my home for the next few weeks. And straight into utter chaos. One half of the room seemed fine. Clean, neat, and pretty. However, other half would put a tornado wreaked village to shame. Clothes were scattered all over the floor, the sheets were completely tangled, and sheet music was everywhere. And in the middle of it all was a girl, bent over her trunk, throwing even more things into the mess.

"Um, hi; I'm Tenten. I guess we'll be roommates for the month."

The girl started and turned around to face me. She smiled and extended a long fingered hand.

"Hi, Tente. I'm Temari, violinist. What do you play?"

"Piano." I said as I shook her hand. "Are you looking for something?"

She chuckled and nodded her head. "Yeah, they assigned everyone into a chamber orchestra, but I lost the sheet."

I smiled at her and dug through my bag for my sheet. "You mean this one?"

She grabbed it out of my hand and squealed. "Thank you! Hey, we're in the same quintet!"

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah; the Schumann Piano Quintet. There is you, me, another violinist named Shikamaru, a violist, Kiba, and the cellist, Naruto."

I smiled a bit larger; it would be nice to know someone in the group.

"Well, we should probably get going to dinner. You want to come with?"

I shook my head. "No thanks, I'm meeting with a couple friends."

She nodded and left the room. I dropped my suitcase off in the closet, grabbed my meal card and key, and left the room, taking a deep breath as I stepped into my independent life.

Running straight into Lee.

"Tenten! I was just looking for you! Do you know where Hinata and Sakura are?"

"N-no. I was j-just looking for them." I couldn't help but notice his arms around me, keeping me from falling. I lightly pushed them off, a blush tinting my face, and gave Lee a small smile. "We should probably find them."

He nodded and we went off to find the two girls.

Not two minutes later, I heard a shrill shout, "Tenten! Tenten! Over here!"

I turned around to find both Sakura and Hinata waiting by the doors, waving us over.

We walked over to the two girls, and, slipping her arm through mine, Sakura pulled me away from wandering ears.

"Tenten," She said, her voice playful, "You were blushing."

"N-no I wasn't!" My face grew red.

"You like Lee, don't you? You like him~!" She taunted.

I nervously shook my head at the pinkette. "Sakura, I have known the boy for three hours. How can I like him in that short amount of time?"

"I don't know." She pouted, "You think he's cute, you think he's funny, you think~"

"Alright. I 'like' him then. But tell anyone, and I will slaughter you, understand?"

Sakura nodded and made a zipping motion over her lips. "You got it. My lips are sealed."

I rolled my eyes at her and we ran to catch up with Hinata and Lee.

We walked the rest of the distance in a comfortable silence, finding our way to the dining hall, and settling into the surprisingly short line for the food. As we reached the front, I dug out my meal card, and the other three followed the suit. I handed the card to a tattooed woman, who gave me a glare as she swiped it, and walked into the kitchen. Inside, there were a number of choices, none of which looked healthy. There was a greasy slice of pizza, looking lonely amongst all the oily hamburgers and fries. I skipped over it, choosing to grab some pasta and cheese sauce instead. On my way out to the hall, I passed the pianist from the audition room yet again. My breath stopped as I watched him grab a Coke and walk out of the kitchen. I shook my head and continued on my way, taking a can of lemonade as I passed by the drink stand. I walked out into the large hall and slowly looked around for an empty table to sit at.

"Tenten! Tenten! Over here!"

I heard my name being called, and I whirled around to the direction of the voice, finding Lee and Hinata already sitting at a small table in a corner of the room. I glided over to them, careful not to spill my tray of food, and sat down next to Lee, who, I saw, had taken about half the food in the kitchen. His tray was piled over with hamburgers, pasta, sandwiches, cookies, and that lone pizza.

"Hungry much?" I looked up to see Sakura occupying the only empty seat at the small, four person table. Hinata let out a tinkling laugh and shook her head while Lee sputtered, and blushing, tried to defend his eating habits. I shook my head at the three. A few hours, and we were already acting like the best of friends. I turned to Hinata.

"So, how long have you been playing violin?" I asked.

She smiled, "Nine years."

"Really? Wow, I bet you're really good, huh?"

"I'm okay." She said, blushing.

"Oh, I bet you are great. I mean, you got in here, didn't you?"

She nodded, and took a bite of her food, only to spit it out a second later.

"Hinata! Are you okay?" Sakura and Lee stopped their debate, Lee still blushing at Sakura, to stare at the Violinist, who stared at her food in disgust.

"This food is absolutely the worst I have ever eaten!" She exclaimed.

"Oh, I'll bet it's not that bad," Sakura said, taking a bite out of her sandwich. She chewed, looking sick, and swallowed. "See?" She asked, her voice hoarse, "It's edible."

Curious, I sampled a bit of my pasta, regretting it almost immediately. The noodles were way undercooked, and the sauce tasted more like plastic than cheese.

"Yuck." I said, pushing the plate away from me, "That _is _gross."

The three of us turned to see Lee's reaction only to see him stuffing his face. He saw our disgusted faces, and shrugged.

"I'm hungry." Was all he said, spewing pieces everywhere.

Sakura gave me a disapproving look, as if to say, _"Him? Really?"_

I shrugged at her shrewdly, _"Can't help it…"_

Hinata just looked at us questioningly, and Sakura smiled at her. She would know before the night was over.

4


	3. Chapter 3

Three

Shortly after we finished dinner, the four of us went back to the dorms. We sat in a circle in the middle of the floor, talking about ourselves and learning new things about each other. It turned out that Lee was from Kansas, and had come to Colorado to visit his _sensei_, who was in a rehabilitation clinic from a nasty fight. His parents wanted him to do something useful with his summer, so he had auditioned for the Tsunade School of Music. Sakura was from Denver. She had played piano for almost all her life and wanted to try out to plump up her resume. Hinata, as I knew, had played violin since she was seven, for about nine years. She had decided that she'd had enough of her sister whining when she practiced so she auditioned for the School. Apparently, her older cousin also got in, as a pianist. As for myself, I had joined to get out of the house. To stretch my legs, and meet new people. Maybe have a small fling.

"I know you'll get that fling, Tenten!" Sakura gave me a sly look.

My breath caught in my throat as I glanced at Lee, hoping he stayed ignorant to my schoolgirl crush. Luckily, he was too preoccupied with digging through his chip bag to notice Sakura's tease. Stuffing the crunchy snack into his mouth by the handful, he turned to us with an innocent look on his crumb covered face. He tilted his head ever so slightly to the left and gazed at us questioningly. I smiled at him and shot Sakura a warning look. She nodded and gave me a smirk, silently telling me that she would be using this as blackmail.

"Tenten, do you believe in love at first sight?"

I glanced over at Lee who had a dreamy look on his face, eyes glazed over, looking up at the ceiling. I blushed a little and scooted a little closer to him.

"It depends on what you are looking at."

He turned to me, snapping out of his daze, and gave me a smile. I blushed harder, my cheeks resembling two very red apples.

"I agree." He said, and I would have sworn that he winked at me.

My breath shortened and I began hyperventilating, black spots blurring my vision. Luckily, before I could pass out and embarrass myself, a counselor came running through the hall, shouting for everyone to go to bed. The four of us stood up and both Hinata and Sakura gave me sly looks before waving and walking to their respective dorms. Lee and I stood in silence for a couple seconds, staring awkwardly anywhere but at each other. Finally, I looked up at him and smiled a bit.

"See you tomorrow?"

He nodded, lips curling into a grin. "I'll meet you guys here, alright?"

"Alright then. See you, Lee."

"Tomorrow then."

And we parted ways. I stopped in front of my door and stuck the key in. I twisted, but the door would not budge. I tried again, but the door refused to move an inch. I began to rattle the doorknob, irritation clouding my mind.

"Having trouble there?"

I turned around to find a very amused Temari, smirking at me. I laughed a little, blowing a stray hair out of my face.

"Yeah, the door won't budge."

She laughed at me and lightly pushed me out of the way. She twisted my key not but a quarter inch to the right and pushed the door open with ease. My eyes narrowed as I blew the stray hair away again. Temari laughed again and nudged my shoulder.

"I was having troubles earlier and a counselor told me to twist the key farther."

I nodded and stepped into the room, observing that it was in an even worse state than when I last saw it. Temari turned and looked sheepishly at me, hands tucked in her pockets. I laughed and jumped onto my bed.

"Don't you want to shower?"

I turned to Temari who already had her hand on the doorknob.

"Nah, I can wait until the morning. Go ahead." She nodded, and leaned into the door, which didn't move, much like what happened not five minutes before.

"What the~"

She began to tug on the knob, even going so far as to put her foot against the frame to try to get the door open. Suddenly, it flew open, knocking the blonde into a wall.

"Sorry, I was in the shower." Said a platinum blonde girl. She looked around our room, lip slightly curling at the sight of clothes tossed all over the place. Her gaze fell upon Temari on the floor, rubbing her head, and her eyes widened.

"Oh, my god!" She ran over to the girl and began to pull her up, "Are you alright? Did I push you into the wall?"

Temari laughed and gently shook the smaller girl off. "It's no problem. I hit my head all the time! It's part of why I'm so loopy!" She then stuck her hand out to the mousy girl. "I'm Temari, violinist."

The girl shook her hand and Temari gestured to me. "This is Tenten. She plays the piano." I offered her a small smile which she returned in a hurry.

"My name is Ino. I'm a cellist."

We stood in an awkward silence for a few seconds until Temari cleared her throat. "So, Ino, are you done with the shower? I smell like a baboon."

Ino laughed lightly and nodded her head, water springing from her wet locks. She led the older girl into the bathroom, and after a few seconds, I heard the click of the lock. I walked over to my suitcase and grabbed my pajamas. No use in staying in street clothes for any longer. A little while later, comfortable in my sleepwear, Temari emerged from the bathroom, sporting her own pajamas. I smiled as she collapsed into her bed, face first and promptly began snoring. I giggled lightly and turned off the light before lying down and trying to do the same.

Tossing and turning, I could not seem to sleep. If I faced right, my hip felt bruised; if I faced left, my arm felt crushed. Any position I tried had some sort of uncomfortable flaw to it. I flipped to my back and stared at the ceiling, observing the graffitied names across it. I began to wonder about life at the School-how I would hold up against the tough musical curriculum it boasted. There was a chamber practice the next day, as well as my first theory lesson, piano lesson, and choir practice. My eyes began to droop, and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

What felt like two seconds later, I woke to an obnoxious beeping. I rolled out of bed, groaning as I hit the ground. I stayed there for a while, face down and unmoving, until I decided to get up and take a shower. I dragged myself into the bathroom and was pleasantly surprised at the size of it. Though not as large as one may hope, the shower was a decent size for a college dorm. I locked both doors and started the water, sparing a single, awkward glance at the mirror as I waited for it to heat up. Stepping in, I noticed a small note next to the shampoo. Before it got too wet, I snatched it out of the steady stream of water and unfolded it.

"Smile! You're beautiful! Here's to the first day of band camp!

Love,

Dei"

I grinned at the slightly messy scrawl of the single suitemate that I had not yet met.

_Today is going to be a good day_, I thought to myself as I pumped the shampoo into my hand.

Half an hour later, I stepped out of the bathroom, smelling like lavender and feeling like the sun. I could see the top of Temari's ponytailed head as she snuggled further beneath the covers.

"Temari," I called to her, "We gotta go. Breakfast is in ten minutes."

_The School really has a strict schedule_ I thought, as Temari leaped out of bed and tore through her trunk, _I mean, breakfast at strictly 7:00 or no food until lunch. That's tough…_

I waited until Temari had finished changing, and we walked down to the mess hall together.

"So," I said shyly, tucking a stray hair behind my ear, "You looking forward to the first chamber practice?"

She gave me a look and snorted. "Of course not," she laughed, "Who looks forward to work?"

I giggled and nodded. "I guess so. "

Just then, I heard my name being called. "Tenten!"

I looked over to see Lee sprinting over to me with his hands waving in the air.

"Lee! Hi!" I exclaimed, my face burning.

"Who's that?" Temari asked, completely oblivious to my blush.

Shaking my head to clear the blush, I answered quickly, "Rock Lee. He's a vocalist."

She smiled. "He's cute. Aside from his eyebrows..."

"I guess so." I said, feeling my face heat up again as he reached Temari and I.

"Tenten! Hey! How are you? Who is this?"

"Hi, Lee. I'm good, and this is Temari."

"Hi!" He stuck his hand out to the ponytailed girl, giving her a dazzling, white smile, prompting a smile from her.

"Well, I'm gonna go and meet up with my friends now. Have fun, kids."Temari nudged my shoulder again and waved at Lee as she ran off to her waiting friends.

I looked over a Liee who had his head tilted at the dining hall with a confused look on his face.

"We should probably go in now. Sakura and Hinata are probably waiting for us."

He looked over at me with his grin in place, as usual. "Probably." He said, and, grabbing my hand, he bolted into the cafeteria.

4


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"Lee! Tenten! Over here!"

Jumping at the sound of Sakura's voice, I pulled Lee, who was ogling at the rubber-looking eggs, over to the table at which Sakura and Hinata were sitting, and sat him down.

"Sit," I commanded, "I'll bring you some food. Something actually edible."

Lee pouted a little and nodded. He turned to Hinata, who was already eating, and began to speak to her.

"How did you sleep last night? I thought the beds were a little hard, what about you?"

"I don't know… I guess so…"

Their conversation faded out as I walked towards the buffet style cafeteria. Sakura caught up with me and gave me a knowing smirk, eyes twinkling with friendly mirth.

"You were holding hands with Lee." Was the first thing to come out of her mouth.

I rolled my eyes at her and replied, "Good morning to you too. I slept well, thanks for asking."

"Yeah, yeah, good morning, whatever. Lee is totally into you."

I lightly shoved her and laughed as she tripped over a loose shoelace and stumbled head first into Sasuke, the cellist boy from yesterday. He was really quite attractive, with dark hair and a light complexion. His brooding eyes seemed to stare through an outer shell. So it was understandable when her cheeks turned bright red and she began stuttering apologies, sounding not too different than Hinata. I grinned widely, knowing that I finally had the blackmail I needed to shut her up about Lee. I flashed Sasuke a small smile and grabbed Sakura's arm, pulling her away from the apology she still hadn't gotten out. As soon as we were out of earshot, she whirled towards me, eyes flashing, still a little red.

"You jerk!" She hissed, "He's the freaking hottest guy here and you made me run into him!"

I giggled a little, "At least he knows who you are, now." I said.

"Yeah, a total klutz who can't even speak right! Now I won't even be able to look at him!"

"Okay, okay I'm sorry."

Sakura smiled deviously, "Oh well," she said, "Now I'll have to get even with you. How about telling Lee you like him?"

My eyes widened. "You wouldn't." I gasped.

"No, you're right. I'll just embarrass you a little. That's all."

I flicked her forehead. "Whatever."

We made our way back to the table where Lee was waiting anxiously for his rubber eggs and undercooked pancakes and Hinata was staring off into the distance, fork occasionally missing her mouth and her eggs hitting her cheek. Sakura and I sat our trays down before dragging two extra chairs over to the table.

"Finally!" Lee yelled, jumping out of his seat, "I'm starving!"

Sakura and I laughed at his eagerness and sat down, starting on her breakfast. I picked at my eggs while the pinkette sipped at her milk. Hinata continued to stick eggs into her cheek.

"Hinata?" Sakura called, with no response, "Hinata?"

Hinata continued to stare into the distance, cheeks a little pink.

"Hinata?" I poked her shoulder, speaking a little louder, and she jumped out of her seat.

"Who? What?" She yelled, startled, before noticing the three of us staring at her, "Oh, hi, guys." She said in her normal quiet voice, "What's up?"

Sakura and I giggled at her while Lee looked on with a confused expression. "You were staring somewhere and you have egg all over your face."

Hinata started and quickly grabbed a napkin, cleaning all of the egg off of her face. "I was just thinking about my new piece. It's very difficult, it's a Paganini Caprice."

"Ooh," Sakura and I cooed sympathetically, "Those are hard."

Even though we were pianists, we knew that any given Paganini Caprice was difficult. Lee just stared at the three of us, with a confused look on his face. "Women." He groaned, and continued to stuff the runny food down his throat. Simultaneously, the three of us rolled our eyes at Lee and Sakura let out her devious smile.

"You know, Lee, you'll never find a good wife if you keep eating like that."

Lee choked on his pancake and turned to her. "Huh?"

"I mean, girls don't like that. Take Tenten for example, she wants a man who knows his manners. You should fit Tenten's expectations." I smacked Sakura on the arm and stood up, blushing. "I'm gonna go get some cereal."

I turned around and left as Lee sat there bright red and stammering incoherently. I strode over to the buffet and made a beeline for the cereal. I saw that there was only one small box left, Fruit Loops, and reached my hand out to grab it. As soon as my hand was within an inch of the box, another long fingered hand snatched it away. Stunned, I looked up into the glaring white eyes of the boy from the audition room, the boy from the results crowd. My eyes narrowed as I felt an annoyance seep into my heart along with the fluttery feeling in my stomach.

"Would you mind?" I asked, "That's my favorite cereal."

He stared at me for a minute, seemingly judging me with his cold eyes. "What a coincidence. It's mine too."

I sighed, "I haven't eaten since last night. The food here is gross."

"Neither have I."

I glared a little, "Then what are we going to do?"

He looked me up and down, "I guess you'll have to sit with me and we'll have to share."

Normally, I would have never done something like this, but I was starving today. "Fine."

I trailed behind him to the table and plopped myself down across from him. Sakura, from across the cafeteria, gave me a look, _What the heck? Who is this guy?_

I shrugged my shoulders, _I dunno, I'll tell you later._

She looked back to Lee and Hinata, both whom looked very confused and chattered away. I rolled my eyes and looked back at the white-eyed boy and saw him pouring the cereal into a bowl.

"Well, as long as we have to sit together, we might as well introduce ourselves. Hi, I'm Tenten." I smiled, ignoring both the fluttery and annoying feelings, and stuck out my hand.

"Neji." He grunted, and quickly shook my hand. As soon as our fingers touched, I felt a jolt, as if I had been shocked. I shook the feeling off and stuck a spoonful of cereal into my mouth. Totally worth it. It was the first truly edible thing I had since last night.

"So, what ensemble are you in?" I asked him, trying to make conversation.

"Quintet for piano and wind. By Beethoven." He said, and finishing his last bite, stood up and left without another word.

"Rude." I whispered to myself, and went over to Sakura, Lee, and Hinata. When I got there, Sakura and Lee bombarded me with questions. "Who is he? Why were you eating with him? What were you doing?"

I answered quickly and bluntly, "Neji. Last box of cereal. Eating."

The two looked at me funny and nodded, sensing my annoyance, but Hinata continued to stare.

"What?" I asked her.

"Nothing, I guess," she replied, "It's just that my cousin has never eaten with anyone in his life. Not even my uncle, while he was alive."

I stared. "Weird." Was all Lee said before getting up to grab more food.

"How much does that boy eat?" asked Sakura in wonder, with a clear plate already in front of her.

"No idea." I said, the Neji incident already stored in the back of my mind for later. "He's like a human trash can!"

Sakura and Hinata giggled and the three of us stood up to throw our plates away.

"So, what ensembles are you ladies in?" Sakura asked, "I get to play _Gypsy_ by Haydn."

"I'm in the Schumann Piano Quintet." I told her and we both looked at Hinata.

"I'm in the String Quartet in C sharp, by Beethoven." She replied.

Sakura sighed, "Gosh, I don't think I know anyone in my ensemble. It's going to suck."

Hinata nodded her head in agreement while Lee came back, looking disgruntled, empty handed.

"What's wrong?" I asked, "No more food left?"

Lee nodded sadly and walked to the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked him, jogging to catch up to his fast pace.

"Ensemble practice starts in ten minutes. And I hear that the coaches here are really tough."

I nodded and waved back at Hinata and Sakura. "I have too. I'm not too scared of any of them, though; just the one called Anko. I hear that she's incredibly scary." I shuddered at the memories of the rumors I had heard of the woman. Apparently, she had beat Vladimir Ashkenazy, one of the world's greatest pianists over the head because she did not like the way he played a piece.

Lee and I arrived at my dorm room and I stopped. Lee walked on a few steps before realizing that I was no longer next to him, stopped abruptly, spun around, and ran back to me.

"This is where I take my leave. I need to grab my music." I waved goodbye at him, "Good luck."

He nodded, smiled, and waved as well, "You too. Hope you get a nice coach." And with that, he left me in front of the door. I ran in, grabbed my music, and sprinted to the auditorium, where my practice was to be held, skidding to a stop in front of a great oak door, ornamented with small, silver trinkets. I pushed it open, checking to see that I had everything I needed, and found that I was the last to arrive. Temari and a boy with a spiky ponytail and a lazy posture stood together, quietly arguing about how to bow the first few measures, another boy with sharp teeth and a large coat, despite the hot weather, sat, tuning his viola, glaring at the two arguing violinists who were throwing his tuning off, and a blond dressed in bright orange was setting up his cello, having trouble holding up the large instrument and putting his music up at the same time. I ran to the blond and grabbed his music, setting it on his stand, and he gave me a dazzling grin, not unlike Lee's, and stood up. His entire presence struck me as… big. He loudly proclaimed himself as Naruto and claimed that he was going to be the best cellist in the world- even better than Yo-Yo Ma. I giggled and introduced myself, amused by his cheerful and confident presence.

"Hey, Piano Girl! Can ya gimmie a G?" The jacketed boy waved me over to the piano.

"My name is Tenten, and yes, hold on."

I walked over to the piano, sat my music down, and lifted the lid. Locating the G above the middle C, I used my index finger to press it down. The sound reverberated throughout the room, putting me completely at ease. I looked down at the piano and saw the golden label on the wood above the keyboard. The cursive letters connected together at the middle with a small harp, the shiny label reading _Steinway and Sons_.

"Thanks, Tenten," The jacketed boy said, "I'm Kiba, by the way."

I nodded at him, and sat down at the bench. The tuning seemed to catch Temari's attention, as she turned to me with a grin.

"Hey, Tenten!" She greeted, smiling widely.

I gave her a wave and smiled at the boy next to her. He nodded in return and looked away.

_That must be Shikamaru, the second violinist_, I thought to myself.

Suddenly, the doors slammed open, and a woman with her hair dyed purple and put into a spiky bun strode in. She was munching on a stick of dango while frantically and one-handedly shuffling though her papers.

"Alright, maggots, let's get started. I'm Anko, and you'd better all be freaking perfect or I'll beat you all!"

_Oh, great_.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: A little of OOCness in this chapter on Sasuke's part, but it's not too much, I think..._

Chapter Five

The five of us jumped to attention at the small frame of the scary woman. Naruto scrambled to grab his music, which went flying in all directions; Kiba's viola squeaked like a mouse and he looked like he was going to cry, Temari stood, back straight as a board, lightly trembling, and Shikamaru looked as tired as he did before, albeit a little scared. I quickly, and with shaking hands, yanked my music out and shakily set it down in front of me. Anko smiled evilly as she finished her dango and threw her stick into the wall.

"Alright, which one of you maggots is Tenten?"

Immediately, four fingers pointed towards me. I cowered as she slowly sauntered towards me, much like a predator towards her prey. Even though I knew she was a respected pianist and an even better chamber music coach, I wondered what horrible deed I had done in the past to incur the wrath of the gods in the form of the purple haired, trench-coat-wearing coach. I could just see myself being hit over the head over and over again because I knew she would not like how I played. I winced as I could feel each hit being delivered. This was not going to be fun. Before Anko reached my piano, I was able to mutter out a quick prayer to the gods that she would not kill me. She stopped next to my bench and bent over so she was eye level with me. I had to twist my body to be able to make eye contact with her. With her devious smile still in place, she looked me up and down. I knew that she was making judgments about how I played based on how I looked: hands too small, frame too weak, fingers too slim, et cetera. I could feel my cheeks heat up at her disappointed grunt.

"You don't look like much, but we'll see how you play." was all she said to me.

I could smell the red bean paste from her earlier snack on her breath, mixed in with the smell of all the hairspray she must have used to give her ponytail that odd shape.

"Well? What are you idiots waiting for? Impress me!" she demanded.

The five of us looked at each other, looking a little confused. We had only gotten out assignments yesterday, when we checked in, and none of us had any time to practice. The entire song would have to be sight read.

"Move it, maggots, _move it_!"

Anko sort of reminded me of a drill sergeant, with the continued use of the word _maggot_ and the screaming. I giggled a little, imagining all the band camp kids at a military base. Anko turned on me as she heard the sound of my happy laugh. She smiled sadistically and lifted a thin finger to me.

"Since little miss Tenten thinks it's so funny, why doesn't she start us off with a little solo performance. Play measures seventeen through fifty two!"

I stared at her, a little startled.

"Do it, maggot! Or are you as bad a pianist as you look?"

A little offended, I lifted my fingers to the keyboard. Both the piano and the music felt and looked foreign to me. The piano bench was too low, as I didn't have time to adjust it, and the music stand was a little crooked. I took a deep breath, preparing to face Anko's annoyance at my performance when I finished. Playing the first note, my mind went into a whirl. I desperately tried to keep up my reading with my playing without making a mistake. For those of you who have never sight read before, it's a mess. Your fingers are going too fast for your brain to comprehend and you miss notes. Especially if there are chords or accidentals. I slowed down a little and found myself facing a sharp wooden stick.

"Faster!" Anko shouted, brandishing her dango stick, which she had retrieved from the wall, in my face, father confusing my mind, "I want you playing at full tempo!"

I found myself complying to her demands, my fingers flying and brain whirling. I stumbled through the music, missing over half the notes, until I reached the measure which she wanted me to stop. Panting a little, I looked around, into the stunned faces of my chamber-mates and the unimpressed face of my coach.

"You call that sight-reading? Drop and give me twenty!" She screamed, arms in the air.

I leaned away, trying to get out of range of the dango stick she was still holding. I still had not registered what she was demanding of me, my mind still in a whirl from the sudden sight reading.

"_Drop and give me twenty!_" Anko yelled again, obviously frustrated by my lack of response, "Wait," Her face of rage turned to one of sickly sweetness, "Make that fifty."

My eyes widened when I finally realized what she wanted me to do. I could barely do ten pushups in gym class at school, let alone fifty. It was Naruto who tried to save me.

"Wait, Miss Anko!" He yelled, just as loudly as she, "This isn't a butt camp! It's a music center!"

Kiba sniggered, "It's _boot_ camp, stupid, not butt camp."

Naruto flushed and Anko grew red, trying to hold back her laughter. She threw her dango stick at the wall behind Naruto, its sharp edge missing his face by centimeters. The blond jumped at the quick shot of wind and let out a yell.

"Hey! What the hell was that for, you bat?"

Anko looked up dangerously. "You drop too. one hundred pushups! Now!" She shouted.

"Wha-? I just said that this is music camp, not butt camp!"

"_Boot_ camp!"

"One hundred pushups!"

Anko continued to argue with Naruto, my punishment completely forgotten.

First chamber practice, status: Failed.

oO0Oo

I walked out of the practice room, a little dazed. For the rest of the hour, Anko yelled at Naruto and I, eventually getting Kiba and Temari involved with the argument. She just screamed at us, pulling her dango stick out of the wall and throwing it at us randomly, each time increasing the number of pushups she demanded. Shikamaru had managed to stay out of the trouble, muttering a quick "Troublesome" before putting away his violin and quickly falling asleep on his chair.

As I walked down the hallway to the main part of the building, I realized that I had forgotten my music. In my hazed state, I had left without bringing anything. Spinning around, I sprinted back to the room, nearly running over a poor Naruto who had just walked out, shouting a last insult to Anko over his shoulder. I stepped into the room as Anko stepped out.

"See you tomorrow, Tenten. We're gonna have a lot of fun here." She smiled sadistically before laughing and skipping towards a man with gray hair in a flyaway fashion wearing an eye-patch and reading a bright orange book.

"Kakashi!"

"Oh! Hey, Anko, didn't see you there."

"You never notice me! I should dump you right on the spot…"

Their conversation faded out and I smiled to myself; the great and scary Anko had a soft spot. For a man, no less. The smile faded as I thought about what was to happen the next practice. I would have to practice it a lot. I sighed; this meant less time to spend with Lee.

"You looking for this?" A lazy voice drawled out from the back of the room.

I spun around to see Shikamaru, holding out the folder of music I had sprinted back for. I looked at him a little suspiciously, not wanting anyone to touch my music.

He gave me a lazy smile, "Don't worry, I didn't even open the folder."

Lightly panting, I took it from him, thanking him.

"It's nothing." He replied, looking as uncaring as ever.

I had already turned to leave when he called for me.

"Hey, Tenten, can I ask a favor?"

I turned to face him and gave him a large smile, "Sure, what is it?"

He scratched the back of his head and said, in a sheepish tone, "Would you be willing to do a couple duets with me? There are a couple piano-violin songs that I need to finish and perform by the end of the week, and your sight-reading isn't horrible. They aren't very hard at all, just some pretty sounding pieces. Please? No other pianist I asked seemed willing to."

I tilted my head in wonder, playing with my two signature buns. Doing this would mean even more time in the practice room and even less time to spend with Neji. I contemplated my options and decided that performing more gave me more of a chance to score a scholarship with a college.

"Alright, I'll do it." I told him.

"Thanks." Was all he said before turning to leave.

"Wait!" I called after his pineapple shaped hairdo, "When and where?"

He looked confused for a second before replying, "Uhh… I guess today's practice time in my practice room. It's number 205."

I nodded to show that I understood and he turned to leave again. Just before he was out of ear shot, he called back to me.

"You might want to get to theory class. Room 515 with Kakashi. You have about 5 minutes."

I looked inside my folder at my schedule to see, printed in small black letters, that I did have theory with Kakashi in five minutes. I grinned. That lazy-ass really did look inside.

oO0Oo

I was the last student to arrive at theory class. Sakura waved me over and I saw that she was happily chatting with Ino, one of my suitemates. I quickly walked over to them and sat down next to Sakura, the seat being the last open one in the classroom. Unluckily, it was the one right next to the ever-so-cold, ever-so-rude, ever-so-cereal-stealing, Neji. I spared him a quick glare before I sat down and turned to the front of the classroom, where I expected a teacher to be waiting to teach. Unfortunately, there was none. The front of the room stood empty and silent as the class waited for Mr. Kakashi Hatake to walk in. As the minutes ticked by, chatter slowly started to fill the room, as still, no one had entered to teach.

"Tenten! Do you know Ino? She's in my chamber group!" Sakura introduced me to her new friend with no delay.

I smiled at the platinum blonde, "Hi, Ino." I then turned to Sakura, "Yes, I know her. She is my suitemate."

Sakura nodded in understanding and turned to continue her gossipy conversation with Ino.

"But I heard that Mr. Kakashi was single!"

"No, I saw him with that scary looking, purple-haired lady…"

"…Damn…"

I shuffled through my papers and pulled out my schedule. Looking at it, I noticed that my practice session was at 4:00 pm, so I had about 6 hours to eat lunch and rest a little. I sighed again as I glanced at the clock, it had been about twenty minutes since class was supposed to start. At that very moment, the gray haired man that I saw with Anko walked in. His fly-away hairstyle was messed up, with some strands hanging in his face. His clothing was wrinkled, looking as if it were just haphazardly thrown on. A sleeve kept slipping off, showing off his muscular shoulder, and he kept trying to pull it back on. Seeing a smear of light pink lipstick on his face, near the corner of his mouth, I let out a small smirk.

_Mr. Kakashi, you dog_.

I saw, out of the corner of my eye, that Neji was smirking as well. The fluttery feeling I got in my stomach every time I saw him intensified as I saw the half smile on his face. On the other side, I could see Sakura and Ino looking a little faint, Ino slightly hyperventilating at the sight of Kakashi's bare skin.

"Alright, class, let's get this party started. I'm Mr. Kakashi and I'll be your theory teacher for the month. Now, I expect you all to know-"

He was cut off by the sound of a familiar (to me) voice. "_You're late!_"

The gray haired teacher looked over to the source, along with the rest of the class, and saw the bright orange sweater of the ever-so-energetic blond, Naruto.

"Yes, I am. I saw a pretty lady on the way and couldn't help but assist her with her bag."

I giggled as Naruto shouted that Mr. Kakashi was lying; _Anko, a pretty lady?_

"Anyways, let's start by calling roll. Aburame?"

A boy sitting in the corner, wearing sunglasses and looking a little creepy raised his hand. I saw on his finger was perched a cockroach. I shuddered at the brown colored bug, I had always hated bugs.

Kakashi continued to call out names, and through this, I learned that Sasuke, the so-called "hottest guy at camp," Naruto, and Kiba were in my class, along with Sakura, Ino, and Neji. I sighed as Kakashi started the lesson, reviewing what we already knew. He handed out a worksheet filled with simple problems: transposing, different keys, etc. As we bowed our heads to begin working, Kakashi pulled his bright orange book from his knapsack and buried his nose in it, ,giggling every so often. Soon, class was over and there was a mad rush to the door. I saw Sakura squished against Sasuke and smiled a little at her blush. I watched him let out a small smirk at her and leaned in ever so much closer and whispering something in her ear, prompting an even darker blush on her face. As soon as I pulled my body out from the crowd, I ran to the cafeteria, trying to get there early to grab something edible before anyone else.

Arriving at the cafeteria, I saw that there were only a few people in line in front of me. I hurried to the line and immediately, behind me, a whole crowd of people rushed in. I sighed in relief that I did not get caught in the crowd. I saw a flash of pink and found Sakura pulling Hinata to the back of the line.

"Sakura! Hinata!" I yelled, waving them over when they turned to me. I stepped back when they arrived, letting them cut in front of me, prompting groans from the people behind me.

"Oh, thank you!" Sakura sighed, "How did you get here so fast?"

I laughed at her, "I used to be a sprinter for my school's track team. I'm a fast runner."

"Well, thank goodness for that."

The three of us giggled and hurried into the cafeteria to grab the food. For the first time, I saw a salad that actually looked like real leaves. I hurried to grab the second to last one, the last Cesar salad, and found myself with my hand under Neji's.

"You again?" I hissed in mirth. This damn fluttery feeling was putting off my appetite.

"Yes, me. Now let go."

I glared, "No, you. I was here first. Get the other salad."

And with that, I snatched the Cesar salad and marched off to the table in which Sakura and Hinata were waiting with Lee.

"Geez, Tenten, you and Neji seem to be getting along very well." Hinata mentioned as I slammed my salad on the table and dropped onto the chair.

"Not. At. All." I growled, pausing after each word.

All three of my friends tilted their heads in confusion at my anger, and I just shook my head.

"He's an ass. Sorry, Hinata."

Hinata nodded in understanding and Sakura and Lee laughed. Lee patted my arm, making blood flush to my face. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop the redness.

"We have about four hours until the practice time. You guys want to hang out for a while?" Lee asked.

Both Sakura and Hinata shook their heads.

"I have to meet… someone." Hinata said, without missing a beat. I looked at her suspiciously, noticing the small pause between the words "meet" and "someone." It seemed that I was the only one though, as Lee nodded and Sakura explained that Sasuke had invited her to meet him during the time.

"Yeaah, Sakura, _git some_!" I teased, lightly poking her cheek. She blushed and smacked my hand away, telling me to shut up.

I was still laughing as the two of them left. I hadn't even noticed until Lee pointed it out.

"I guess it's just you and me, now." He said, his large eyes sparkling with energy.

"I guess so." I said, my calm face displaying none of my inner feelings.

I took a deep breath when he wasn't looking. _Here we go_.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Immediately, Lee grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the door.

"Let's go outside!" He exclaimed, throwing the double glass doors open with a little too much gusto. His bright smile grew even brighter in the sunlight.

Looking around the grassy area outside the School, I saw that a lot of people had the same idea as Lee. A group of people, including Kiba and Temari, were throwing a Frisbee around, occasionally missing and having to ask Shikamaru, who was sleeping against a tree, to throw it back to them. I couldn't help but notice that every time he threw it back to the group, it always seemed to land at Temari's feet.

Lee began sprinting towards the Frisbee group, happily dragging me along the way. I dug my heels into the ground, barely being able to stop him before we reached the group.

"Let's not." I said, a little nervous. As silly as it sounds, ever since an incident involving a few boys, a Frisbee, and a ripped shirt, I had not been able to touch a Frisbee.

The large-eyed boy shrugged, pulling his green shirt straight and finally letting go of my hand. He began walking in the opposite direction and I jogged to catch up with his quick pace.

"Then, let's walk." He suggested, turning to grin at me, "I have a lot to talk to you about."

I blushed for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day, and nodded in consent.

We walked around the School for about five minutes in silence, quietly talking in the pretty surroundings. Out of nowhere, Lee began talking. It was nothing, really, just a lot of small talk, including how his favorite team was doing in the NBA, what other instruments he wanted to learn, his chamber practice today, and things like that; yet, he was able to make me laugh so often. Normally, I would never believe in something as foolish as love at first sight, but, seeing as Lee made me laugh so much and so hard, and I got a light shock every time he grabbed my hand, I was willing to consider love and option. Suddenly, I had a flashback to mine and Neji's fingers touching, and the shock I got from even that. I shook my head, reminding myself that I hated the bastard, and that he was a cereal stealing, cold-hearted jerk.

"You know that question I asked you yesterday? About love at first sight?" Lee's dreamy voice brought me out of my trance.

"Of course." I responded, moving a little closer to him.

"Well, it wasn't just a random question. There is this girl here that I really like. I know it's stupid and it has only been one day, but every time I see her, I get this feeling in my heart and butterflies in my stomach. I know it's stupid to say I love her after this short of time, and that I probably have no chance with her, but I really want to be with her. Or at least let it out. Do you know what I mean?" Lee turned more and more red after each sentence he uttered, until the end, when he could have put a tomato to shame.

"I do know what you are feeling. There is a guy that I like as well. He makes me laugh and feel so happy, and like you said, I get a clenching feeling in my heart every time I see him. I don't believe in love at first sight, but he is really making me second guess my emotions. I am a big believer in fate, and I'm thinking this is the guy that Destiny had laid out for me." Great, now the both of us looked like human tomatoes.

Lee's eyes brightened at my agreement with his statements. "Really? Who is the guy? I could talk to him for you!"

I laughed at his silliness, "You tell first." I demanded.

He shook his head, "Why don't we play rock, paper, scissors?"

I agreed, and we both made fists. _Rock, paper, scissors, shoot_. I stared down at my clenched fist and his open palm and mentally cursed. _Damn_. Lee laughed gleefully and danced around.

"Tell me!" He pressed, dancing around me.

"Fine, fine."

Lee slowed down, a more serious expression taking his face, as he came to a stop in front of me. His large eyes stared into my own brown ones and I felt my heart beat ten times faster. I took a deep breath and got ready for a confession.

"It's you." Was all I said.

Immediately, I knew something was wrong. The happy spark went out of his eyes and he stood stock still, mouth slightly gaping.

"I-I'm sorry Tenten. I-I don't feel the same way. The girl I was talking about was Sakura."

I had never felt my heart break before, and I cursed myself for letting it happen in this way- within two days with a boy I barely even knew. Maybe if I had known how painful it was, I would have stayed away, made up some lie and gotten away from the situation, but this was my first time experiencing such pain and embarrassment. I could feel my chest clench up and my eyes well up with tears. I could feel my already red cheeks grow even more red with embarrassment and rage. I could even feel my bones trembling in anxiety, shaking my entire frame. I quickly used my sleeve to wipe away the tears before they fell and decided that I needed to make a quick exit.

"Oh, that's great! Sakura's a lucky girl! Happy for you!" I sputtered out, barely able to form the words.

And then I ran. I could hear Lee calling my name behind me, voice ringing with desperation, but I ignored his pleas and ran. Because I knew if I went back, I would feel that excruciating pain of heartbreak all over again. And I didn't want that. So I ran. Back around the building, past the Frisbee players. Through my tears, I could see a blurry Temari spare a quick glance at the sleeping Shikamaru. I ran up the stairs of the School, shoving past a confused Hinata who was talking to Naruto. I ran into practice room 205, the one I agreed to meet Shikamaru in. I glanced at my watch; _2:00_. Great, so I had time to get in a good cry before Shikamaru came to practice. Knowing this, I let my tears flow freely. Pulling myself into a corner, I let myself cry. You know how in those movies, when the girl cries, she is more beautiful than when she smiles? Yeah, that's not the case. Snot was running out of my nose, along with the tears from my eyes. My face, I knew, was blotchy and red and probably swollen. My body shook with sobs and hiccups as I let the emotions roam free. It was then I decided to hate them. Sakura, Lee, and Hinata, even though she didn't do anything. I had to hate all of them. If I liked even one of them, it would mean contact with all of them, and that was exactly the opposite of what I needed. My emotions a little more under control now, I decided to start practicing. No use wasting the time I had left. I pulled my chamber music out of the folder I was still clutching and set it up on the stand. Placing my fingers over the notes, I felt much more relaxed than at the actual chamber practice. Working slowly, I let my fingers familiarize themselves with the song. I moved one section at a time, each section about five to ten measures. I played the small sections over and over, letting my mind slip into bliss. I knew that my face was still a mess, but I decided that I would clean up later, I still had some time to relax. As I perfected the tenth section, and went back to the beginning to test out the piece so far, I heard the door to the practice room open. Hastily wiping my face with my sleeve, I looked up. Shikamaru wasn't supposed to be in here for another ten minutes.

Right away, I found myself staring into the white eyes that had been bothering me all day, and I felt the fluttery feeling again.

"Oh, great. What do you want?" I hissed, mirth strong in my voice.

"Were you just crying?" He avoided my question, eyes showing a hint of concern.

"It's none of your business." I snapped, gathering my music, "Why are you here, anyways? This is supposed to be Shikamaru's practice room."

"I heard you playing, and thought it wasn't horrible. And when I looked in, I saw your blotchy face. It's really not that attractive, you know." Was it just me, or was he blushing?

"Oh, how sweet. You do have a heart. But how I feel is no concern to you, is it? Don't lose any sleep over it." I don't know why I was being so rude. Maybe I was just annoyed that he had caught me crying. Though, for some reason, my heart dropped when he said that my blotchy face was not attractive. I shook it off and pushed past him, leaving my music in the room. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to wash my face. Go run along like a good boy and go to your practice room."

He grabbed my arm as I walked past him and pulled me close. "If it's about a boy, just know that any idiot stupid enough to give up a feisty and good musician such as yourself has no brain."

He let go so quickly that I barely had time to feel the shock that I seemed to have every time we touched, and he had walked away before I had a chance to register what came out of his mouth as a compliment. My eyes widened and my heart beat faster as I hurried to the bathroom to clean my face off. By the time I had gotten all the redness out, I was five minutes late for my meeting with Shikamaru. I ran back to the practice room and panted out an apology to a tired looking Shikamaru, who was tuning his violin. He told me to forget about it and handed me two pieces. One was a piano-violin duet from a popular anime called_ Detergent_*_. _The other was a quartet from the same anime, with piano, violin, flute, and xylophone.

"Who is playing the flute and xylophone parts?" I asked Shikamaru.

He replied that his good friend Chouji was an amazing flutist that would play the simple piece. He then went on to explain that he was a part of a band that went around to anime conventions, playing soft anime pieces. Apparently, they earned pretty good money that way. He told me all about Chouji, who was a little big-boned, but was a surprisingly delicate flutist, despite his size. He also told me about the two percussionists in his group; Asuma and Kurenai. They were his mentors in music, the people who inspired him to become a musician. He explained to me that Asuma was like a second father to him.

"Usually, Kurenai plays the piano parts, but recently, she and Asuma got pregnant, so he is refusing to let her play any gigs until the baby is born." Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "But, oh well. Let's get started." He pulled out the first duet, one titled _Never Meant to Belong_, and we got started on that piece.

A few hours later, we finished our practice, being able to read through both pieces quite fluently. We both gathered our belongings and headed out.

"You going to dinner?" Shikamaru asked me, nodding his head in the direction of the cafeteria.

"No, I'm not hungry." I told him, turning to go back to my dorm.

He nodded, waved goodbye, and we parted ways. I walked into the small room and jumped onto my bed. What I didn't tell Shikamaru was that I didn't want to go to dinner because I didn't want to see Lee or Sakura.

_"Any idiot stupid enough to give up a feisty and good musician such as yourself has no brain."_

I shook my head. _He probably didn't feel comfortable seeing a girl cry and that's why he said it. It's not like he called you pretty or anything. Don't be stupid_. _Lee doesn't even like you. Why would Neji?_

Great. The first day of camp and I already have to avoid three people. This will be _so_ much fun.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey, guys. First off, thanks so much for all the reviews and followings and stuff! They really mean a lot to me. There seemed to be a little confusion about "Asuma and Kurenai got pregnant" as well. I meant it in the sense that Kurenai got pregnant with Asuma's baby… I've heard couples say things like, "We got pregnant!" and such, so, uhm… yeah… Also, I forgot to mention last chapter: there will be random anime references in this story, such as **_**Detergent**_**(Bleach). Yeah… with different names… and stuff… Aanyways, on to the story.**

Chapter Seven

I stayed in bed for a while, gloomily contemplating my social life and how it always seemed to roll downhill.

"Maybe I should just give up on everything." I groaned, rolling over on my stomach. "Or maybe I should just stop being so stupid all the time."

I shook myself out of my brooding attitude and decided to wash my face and re do my buns. Maybe if I got cleaned up, I would feel a lot better. I slid out of my bed and started towards the bathroom, grabbing my _Heart Muncher_ pajamas on the way. I slammed my head in to the door, forcing it open with the momentum and found myself walking in to a bare chested boy with golden hair in a half pony tail injecting some sort of needle into his forearm.

"What the hell?" I screamed, striking a defensive pose. "One, why are you here! This is a girl's dorm! And two, why is that needle in your arm?"

He seemed panicked, his single showing eye wide with fear. "Shut up, shut up, shut _up!_" He hissed, pulling the needle from his arm. "You'll blow my cover!" His voice sounded like a girl's, with a pretty and melodious undertone.

Calming down a little, I repeated myself, voice a little softer but still just as firm, "Who are you, why are you here, and what is that needle?"

"My name is Deidara," He started, obviously more relaxed at my softer tone, "I'm a male-to-female transgender."

I nodded, that explained the needle. "But why are you here? Shouldn't you still be in the boy's dormitory?"

"My therapist says it would be a good idea to start identifying as a girl, to get used to it."

I sighed in relief. It was good to know that this boy- well, this girl, was not a rapist, burglar, or murderer. Seeing my reaction, Deidara laughed a bit.

"So are you Tenten?"

I nodded, smiling. She must have met Temari earlier.

Deidara peered at my red eyes, swollen face, and raw nose. "Have you been crying?" She asked, putting a finger to her mouth.

A little ashamed, I nodded, lowering my face a little. The blonde delicately tilted my chin up to examine it, hemming and hawing at my expression.

"It's about a boy, isn't it?" She asked.

I was stunned. She was good. Seeing my expression, Deidara laughed again. "I want to be a psychiatrist when I grow up. My therapist has sort of been coaching me on the human mind. _Shhhh_, don't tell my mother." Here, she winked, a light smile on her face, "She thinks that me being a trans is bad enough. If I don't become a lawyer, I'm disowned." She laughed, her voice sounding like millions of jingle bells. "But, anyways, what's this all abo-"

She was cut off by the sound of my stomach rumbling. Blushing, I clutched my pajamas to my abdomen and apologized profusely.

"That's fine, you must be starving! The food here sucks! Hey, why don't you get changed and come into my room. I think I have something to fix that. And we can talk about the douche that made you cry." She gave me another wink, blowing her hair out of her face. I wrinkled my brow in confusion; what did she mean, she could fix my hunger? I shrugged and began taking the pins out of my hair, letting the buns down as Deidara backed out of the bathroom. As soon as my wavy, brown hair was down from their tight perch on my head, I immediately felt immensely better. I quickly threw on my pajamas, with the ever-so-sexy Heart on the front, and walked out of the bathroom.

Deidara was sitting in the midst of a feast, consisting of Oreos, ramen, and Chef Boyardee. My eyes widened at the amount of food she had and my mouth gaped open, making me resemble a fish out of water.

"How…Where..?"

Deidara laughed, "I came to this camp last year- as a boy- and, well, I was a little more prepared for the terrible food this year!"

"Jesus, woman! How do you stay so skinny?"

"High metabolism? I dunno, I eat junk food like an American pig!"

We both laughed and she patted down a spot next to her on her bed.

"Now, sit down and tell Doctor DeiDei what's wrong." She commanded in a somewhat teasing voice.

I jumped onto the bed and explained everything to her. Maybe it was the fact that I knew her big secret, or maybe it was that I really needed to talk to someone, but suddenly, everything that had happened in the past twenty four hours came spilling out to her. From meeting Lee to Neji's comfort, I told her everything, tears beginning to spill from my eyes yet again.

Deidara nodded in understanding at my situation, handing me an Oreo and a tissue, and began her to work her therapy magic.

"Tenten, would I be correct in saying that before Lee, you have never had a crush on anyone?" She asked gently, her arm inclosing me in a sort of motherly hug.

And with that simple question, I broke down yet again, telling her about my life before camp, how I had never had a true friend. How the only friends I had stabbed me in the back. How I still heard the taunts every night, _Tenten is weak, Tenten is stupid, Tenten is nothing_.

She listened through all of it, not interrupting even once, just hugging me and gently stroking my arms the entire time. Eventually, my voice gave out and I could no longer speak. There, I just sat there sobbing into Deidara's chest.

"Would you like me to sing to you? When I was younger, my mother used to sing to me when I was crying. It may make you feel better." She asked, still holding me in a warm embrace.

Still unable to speak, I managed a weak nod against her chest, listening to the sound of her heartbeat.

_Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.._

At the tune of the familiar song, my sobbing began to cease, burning out into light hiccups and quick breaths. Deidara had a beautiful, if a little _creepy_ voice. It reminded me a little of the female singer from Skillet. Her light, melodious tone carried throughout the room, bouncing off the walls, making it sound a little demonic. By the end of the song, I had completely calmed down, and, being able to speak normally, I asked her if she was in the School choir. She laughed, and I could still hear a trace of the creepy and melodious voice in the undertone.

"Of course!" She exclaimed, "All singers are required to be in the choir!"

Soon, the two of us were laughing and scarfing down Oreos like two sisters. That was how Ino found us, sitting on Dei's, as she told me to call her, bed and eating Oreos.

"Oh, my goodness! Do you know how many calories are in that?" She screeched, knocking the Oreo out of my hand.

"No, and to be honest, I really don't care right now. I'm hungry and this is food." I said, annoyed with the fact that she had ruined a perfectly beautiful Oreo. And maybe with a little of the fact that she was Sakura's friend.

Ino sighed. "I'm sorry," she said, "It's just that my boyfriend is a little chubby and I have been helping him lose weight. I guess it's just a force of habit, now, to freak out at other people eating unhealthy things."

Dei and I nodded in forgiveness and I walked through the bathroom back to my own room, giving Dei a hug and Ino a wave before I left. I found Temari sitting on her bed with her earphones in and iPod in her hand, looking a little confused. I waved at her to get her attention and when she pulled out the earphones, I asked her what was the matter.

"Nothing at all!" She said, a cheerful smile on her face. "What makes you say that?"

If it wasn't for the very subtle upward intonation in her voice, I would have believed that the confused look on her face was a hallucination. But the sound of her voice made me wonder if her words were true.

"Nothing, I guess." I said suspiciously, climbing into my own bed and pulling out a book and my own iPod. I would figure it out tomorrow. But right now, the wonderful vengance of Jean Valjean awaited me along with the thrilling music of Breaking Benjamin.

"Tenten?"

I was startled out of my reading by Temari's abnormally timid voice. I pulled my earbuds out and set my book down before looking up into her confused eyes. _I knew I wasn't imagining it!_

"Please, be honest with me. Am I fat?"

I was shocked that she would even ask such a question. Temari, although curvy, was most definatly not fat. She had thick legs, but they looked strong, not flabby. And her large presence was made up more of her bone structure than body fat.

"Of course not!" I exclaimed, flicking my wrist, "What makes you say that?"

She shrugged her shoulders and stuck her earbuds back in. Slowly following the suit, I lifted my own ear buds to my ears, staring at her suspiciously. Ignoring the nagging feeling I got in my sstomach that something bad was about to happen, I picked my book back up and sank into the world of Jean Valjean's vengance and Cosette's love once again. I must have read about ten chapters before realizing that it was well past midnight and I needed to get to sleep. I glanced over at Temari's bed to see that she had already laid down, her back facing me and her face to the wall.

Turning off the lamp at my bedstand, I also snuggled under the covers. Immediately, my brain began to run through the events of the past twenty four hours. Amongst all the heartbreak, friendship, and guidance, the two things that stuck in my mind were Neji's comforting words and Temari's anxious ones.

_Am I fat?_

Her question range though my mind, and I wondered what had happened to make her so quiet. In the morning, she had been so cheerful, so noisy, but now, she seemed so anxious and worried. With that in mind, I drifted into an uneasy sleep.

oO0Oo

The next morning, as I made my way to the cafeteria, ear buds in and volume turned up to full, I was stopped by a hand on my shoulder. Turning around, I found myself facing the smiling face of Deidara.

"Do you want to sit with me and my friends today?" she asked, "It would probably be really awkward with the boy and your friend…"

Gratefully, I nodded at her and followed her to a table without grabbing any food. Realizing this, Dei snatched a candy bar out of a red haired boy's hand, prompting a "Hey!" and a glare, and handing it to me.

Ignoring his angry look, she wrapped an arm around my shoulders and introduced me to the people sitting at the table.

"Guys, this is Tenten. She's sitting with us today." She said in a matter-of-fact way. The group nodded and began introducing themselves.

"I'm Sasori," the glaring boy said, "And I want my Snickers back." Deidara snorted and shoved him, telling him to shut up and that she would share hers with him later. This prompted a giggle out of the black haired, eyepatched boy sitting next to Sasori. Still snickering, he introduced himself as Tobi.

"Tobi is a good boy." he said, earning a smack from the boy next to him, who was wearing a green hoodie that looked like it was about to eat him.

"Ignore that. He just does it to piss people off. I'm Zetsu."

Next to him, a guy who looked a lot like Sasuke with longer hair nodded in my direction, introducing himself as Itachi and gesturing to the older looking boy next to him woth gills tattooed onto his neck.

"That's Kisame."

The boy gave me a large smile, showing off a row of sharp teeth, and turned away, doodling into his notebook.

"There are usually four others, but I guess they're not here yet. Pein and Konan are probably off sucking face somewhere, and, uhm… Her, Danna, where are Hidan and Kakuzu?"

Sasori shrugged, looking uninterested, and leaned his cheek onto his fist, eyes cast at the floor. At that moment, a teen with white hair slicked back stormed over to the table, shouting profanities over his shoulder to anther boy with striking green eyes and stitches drawn on the sides of his mouth. Noticing me, the white haired boy glared and sneered, "Who the fuck is this?"

"Tenten." I squeeked, before sitting down at the table next to theirs, as the two boys took the last two seats.

"Don't be such an ass, Hidan." Deidara said, sitting down next to me and diging through her bag for her candy. Seeing that I still had not eaten mine, she grabbed my wrist and shoved the sweet snack to my face.

"Eat it!" she laughed, "Sasori won't mind!" She broke her own candy bar into two halves one slightly bigger than the other, and handed the smaller half to Sasori. He took the candy with a grumpy look on his face and Deidara stuck the tip of her half into her mouth. The red head looked from his smaller piece to Deidara's larger piece and slowly stood up, unnoticed by the blonde until he was standing right over her.

"Whadda you wan'?" She mumbled, words garbled by the candy in her mouth, face bright red and eyes narrowed.

"Your half is bigger." The red head mumbled before swooping his head downlevel with hers and biting the tip of the chocolate bar off, brushing her lips with his. Deidara's already red cheeks lost all their color and her face turned pale white, and I could see Sasori smirk at that.

"Your girlfriend won't like that." Deidara grumbled, an angry look on her face.

"Screw her." He whispered, still leaning over the blonde.

"You do every night." She snapped, abruptly standing up and pushing him out of the way and storming off. I looked back and forth between the staring group and the retreating blonde, and, feeling sufficiently awkward, I jumped up and sprinted after her.

"Dei! What happened?"I asked, finally catching up with her, panting a little.

She snapped at me, "It's nothing."

I put my hands up in an _I surrender_ gesture, but did not bak off until she finally snapped.

"If you must know, I'm in love with Sasori and have been every since I met the stupid boy."


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey, guys... Sorry about the late update... lots of homework and stuff... **

Chapter Eight

Deidara told me about how they first met when she was still a boy, how he had defended her from the bullies who insisted that she was "weird" and "unnatural," and how the two had been inseparable ever since. She told me how, at first glance, she knew she was in love with him. How she followed him everywhere, and how that got her into singing. She laughed as she recounted the story of how Sasori begged on his knees for her to join his band as the backup, and later lead, vocalist, explaining how it was through the band that she met her first friends aside from the ginger.

"Akatsuki, we called ourselves." She said bitterly, as if the mere mention of the name brought a bitter taste to her lips, "You've already met most of the members. Itachi and Kisame were both bass. They switched between gigs. They both also play trombone here. Hidan was the keyboardist, Kakuzu was the drummer, Tobi and Zetsu were backup vocals as well as violins, and Sasori was lead singer and guitar. Pein and Konan managed us. They were pretty good- got us a lot of gigs."

She told me how accepted the Akatsuki made her feel. Even after she began her injections and therapy, the group stayed by her side, Sasori sticking the closest. She told me about how they even tried to raise money for her surgery by selling lemonade. I giggled as she laughed about they forgot to add sugar and ended up with sour lemon juice.

"Then, Sasori got a girlfriend." She said, all humor gone from her face. "She was this real rich chick- someone with real connections. But she was a real bitch."

She explained how the girl made Sasori quit the band and how she made him stop hanging out with them. She told me about how much it broke her heart every time she saw them kiss. How she wanted to kill the girl every time she saw her.

"He finally came back last month. We made up and everything. He told me that he was in love with me and that he wanted only to be with me. And I trusted him." Here, she started tearing up a little. "Then I found out he was still with that prissy bitch. I confronted him about it and he told me that he had to keep seeing her to please his father. I told him to make a choice; her or me. This was last week and he still hasn't broken up with her."

I stared, really not knowing what to do in a situation like hers. And I thought my love life was rough. She laughed, smiling through her tears at my reaction.

"Sorry."

I gave her a light shove, giggling a little, myself, "No, it's good to be able to get to know you."

My smile quickly faded, however, when I saw Sakura, Lee, and Hinata walking my way. The pink haired girl waved at me and I nodded coldly back, hoping she would get the hint and leave. No such luck, she made her way over to where Deidara and I were standing and greeted me with a smile, tossing a small wave a Deidara as well.

"Tenten!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around my tense shoulders, "Where were you last night?"

I shook her off, pushing her hands as if they were poisonous objects away from me. "Nowhere. " I snapped, glaring at her. I knew it wasn't her fault that Lee liked her, but jealousy kept rearing its ugly head, and I could not help but blame her for it. I turned my glare to Lee as well, making him snap his gaze away hastily. Hinata looked politely confused.

She looked a little hurt at my snappy response, but nonetheless, continued to attempt to make a friendly conversation.

"You'll never guess what happened!" She exclaimed, her eyes sparkling, making her look even more beautiful than she already did, and making me hate her even more, "Yesterday, Sasuke told me that he thought I was pretty!"

I glanced over at Lee, who wore a sour expression on his face, and Deidara, who had a sympathetic look on hers, and immediately felt even more angry.

"Well. that's just fan-freaking-tastic for you, isn't it? You just get _everything_ you want handed to you on a silver platter, don't you?" I snapped at her. Deidara and Hinata looked shocked while Lee looked pained.

The sparkle left Sakura's vibrant green eyes and her face fell. The expression did not last long, however, and was quickly replaced with one of anger.

"Geez, Tenten. I was trying to be nice. I thought we were friends. But if you're going to be a bitch, then I'll just leave." She snapped, turning on her heel and storming away, her hair flying behind her. Lee and Hinata scurried after her and I swore I heard her mutter, "I get enough of this at home."

"_Me-Ow!_" Deidara hissed into my ear, playfully batting my hair.

I shoved her, telling her to shut up, and ran to the practice rooms.

When I arrived, I pulled out my schedule and found that I had not lessons or real practice sessions for the day, aside from the daily theory class, chamber practice, and the practice with Shikamaru. I sighed and sat down at the piano, stretching out my fingers and beginning my long practice. The rest of the day passed in a blur, the practice with Shikamaru going smoothly and the theory class with Kakashi giggling at his book. On my way to dinner, I was stopped by Anko, who was, yet again, chewing on her dango.

"Tenten!" She exclaimed, her typical sadistic smile on her face, "Just the girl I needed to see!"

I looked at her, not trusting myself to talk to her without throwing an attitude. I really did not need this today.

"You have your piano lessons tomorrow, yes?" She asked.

I nodded; piano lessons were something I was really excited about. I had heard that even the great Tsunade, the founder of the School, would be teaching. I hoped she would be my instructor, seeing as she was my hero.

"Well, seeing as I am your teacher-"

"Damn."

"What was that? Maggot?" Anko held her empty dango stick dangerously.

"Sorry. It's just that Tsunade is my hero and I had hoped to get her. I mean no disrespect."

Anko nodded, lowering the pseudo weapon. "I understand. But your friend, the one with the pink hair, had her. Maybe you could sit in on one of her lessons."

My fists clenched. Sakura again. Why was it that she got everything that I wanted?

"…Or not…" Anko said, trailing off at my tense figure. "Anyways, I need you to come early. We need to discuss your chamber music. Be there twenty minutes early and I won't impale you." Here, she threw the sharp stick into the wall, frightening a poor boy who was just exiting his practice room with his viola clutched to his chest.

I nodded and continued back into my dorm, nodding at Temari, who had just walked out of the bathroom with a sickly expression on her face, and fell onto my covers, wanting nothing more than to just fall asleep and never wake back up.

oO0Oo

The next day, I went about business as usual, ignoring the silent glares from Sakura, the pitying looks from Lee, and the confused looks from Hinata and Deidara. I planned to spend the day alone, staying under a tree with my iPod and my book during the first free period.

I was interrupted from my reading by the obnoxious sound of a throat being cleared. Irritated that I had been interrupted, I looked up for the source dangerously, eves slightly covered by my bangs. Seeing the face of Neji, I groaned, even more annoyed.

"What?" I demanded.

He shrugged and sat down next to me. "Hinata texted me. She says you've stopped talking to her and her friends and that she's worried. I thought you might like some company."

Suddenly, I had a flashback to a few days ago, after Lee's rejection,

_"Any idiot stupid enough to give up a feisty and good musician such as yourself has no brain."_

and the fluttery feeling I got every time I saw him increased tenfold.

"Why are you suddenly so nice?" I demanded, giving him a suspicious glare.

He shrugged again, and stuck his own ear buds in as well, pulling out his own book and burying his nose in it. I looked his way for a few more minutes before shrugging and sticking my own nose back into my own book. That was how we spent the rest of our break- two nerds, two iPods, and two books, until I had to get to my dreaded lesson with Anko. Giving Neji a small wave, I walked to the lesson room and knocked on the door. Immediately, it was opened by none other than Kakashi. His face was pink and his clothing ruffled.

_Kakashi, you dog_.

I thought again. He hurriedly pushed past me and ran off without looking back once. Anko marched out, her pink lipstick smudged a little, and demanded to know "why the hell I was there so early?"

"You asked me to, yesterday." I replies, easily stepping into the room and to the piano. She looked confusedly lost for a moment, not too different from how Naruto looked yesterday, when I asked him to count his rests, but shook herself out of hit and reached for her dango stick. Finding it with no sweet dumplings left, her face turned to one of murderous rage.

"_Kakashi!_" She screamed as she chucked the stick towards the door which the silver haired teacher had just left from. After spending about five minutes calming my crazy teacher down, I finally had my first lesson underway.

"The reason I asked you to come a little early, "Anko said, cheerful at my promise to buy her more dango before chamber, "Is that Tsunade is entering a few students in a modern music competition. However, because of her laziness…and perhaps due to the fact that we got her totally shit-faced the night before it was due… she forgot to fill out the paperwork and choose the students. Now, us teachers are stuck with finding two students to compete. From what I saw in the past couple days, you don't seem hopeless and I like your spirit. You'll be put into a group of four or five and perform one song for the judges. You get to pick your own song, and on the day of the competition, be exempt from all classes. The competition date is exactly a week from now, but Tsunade and I will be tutoring you guys. You in?"

I was on the fence about the competition throughout the entire speech, but at the mention of being tutored by Tsunade, my mind was made up.

I'm in." I said, bringing a smile to Anko's face.

"Awesome. Come with me, and I'll introduce you to your group. Then, we can get started on that awful posture you have while playing, maggot. Did you know your jaw juts out? By the way, from now until the competition, you can use the theory class time to practice. We already talked it over with Kakashi and Ibiki and they gave the okay."

I silently cheered; it would be nice to actually do something productive during theory lessons.

We walked down the hallway to a room with giant wooden double doors at the end, stopping on the way to buy dango for Anko, and finally arrived at the majestic doors. She opened the door, and, of course, the first person I saw was Lee. He sat with his back towards me, laughing with Naruto, and I turned to Anko, desperation and anger in my eyes.

"Hell no." Was all I said before spinning on my heel and storming out, causing lee to turn around and Naruto to scratch his head in confusion. Anko followed me, calling out my name, a few profanities, and overusing the word _maggot_, but I did not stop until the doors were tightly shut and we were well out of earshot.

"There is no way in hell I'm working with Lee. Please, Anko. Please switch me."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey, guys. I'm so sorry I haven't been updating lately! I've just had so much going on with school starting and all. Too much homework and piano and clubs and stuff. But I promise I will update faster! Really!**

Chapter Nine

"Please, Anko." I begged," I don't care if I don't get to meet Tsunade or whatever. I am not working with Lee."

She looked at me, clearly puzzled, but nevertheless, placed her finger in her chin and thought for a minute.

"Fine." She finally said, "I'll switch you with that pink-haired chick."

I breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you so much."

She nodded, but put a finger up in warning, "As long as you get me another dango stick after your lesson."

I almost laughed at her childish request, but stopped myself when I saw her dangerous glare.

Damn, this woman is crazy.

She led me down another hallway to a smaller door, which opened when we reached it, letting Sakura slip out. She glared at me as she passed, and I sneered right back.

"Bitch." She snarled.

"Whore." I hissed right back.

Anko stared.

I continued glaring at her retreating back until she was out of sight, and finally met Anko's stunned gaze.

"Sorry." I said, cheeks growing red: I had forgotten about her presence in my anger.

She stared for another minute before bursting out into rambunctious laughter.

"Remind me not to cross you!" She snorted, doubling over and clutching her stomach. It took her a full minute to recover, and by the time she had, she was already rolling on the ground. I restate my point: This woman was crazy. When she finally stood up, I pushed the small door open upon her command and found myself staring into a few familiar faces.

"Well, maggots?" She yelled, her drill sergeant-mode coning out, "Introduce yourselves!"

A few of them sat, stunned, as they had never met Anko before, but the ones that knew her, or knew of her, sprung to attention, shouting out their names and instruments before she could throw her signature dango stick at them. The others quickly followed the suit.

"Kankuro. Drums." I remembered this guy from the first day. He was an odd one, telling us about his younger days, when he painted his face and wore cat ears. I nodded at him in greeting and he grinned back at me.

"Hinata. Violin." little Hinata squeaked, and I felt so terrible for shutting her out. She gave me a timid look and I looked away, refusing to meet her gaze.

"Gaara." A red haired boy said. He looked a little like Sasori, but had what looked like a tattoo on his forehead, hidden by his hair. "Voice."

"Yo, piano chick!" I turned to see Kiba and rolled my eyes at his obnoxious voice.

I gave a small smile and waved at the group, all who looked at me expectantly, and introduced myself.

"Hi, I'm Tenten. I guess I'm your pianist now. "

There was a chorus of "hi's" and "hello's" from around the room. I saw Hinata standing up and making her way towards me to start a conversation. Luckily, Anko grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the room before she had the chance to even get near me. I watched her sad and confused eyes as I was pulled out of the room.

"Lesson time!" Anko joyfully shouted with her hand gripping my wrist. I struggled to keep up with her as she literally dragged me to the lesson room. Halfway there, I gave up and sat down, letting the seemingly limitless Anko pull me along. When we arrived, she practically threw me onto the piano bench.

"Alright, let's get this party started!" She yelled energetically, jumping into her spinny chair and rolling it towards me. She commanded me to pull out my books and begin my chamber music. When I finished the piece, she actually patted me on the head, a genuine smile on her face.

"Not bad, maggot." She said, making my heart swell with pride, "But, still room for improvement."

After the lesson was finished, I walked out of the room, feeling surprisingly refreshed. I sped through the lunch line and grabbed a plate of limp lettuce that they tried to pass off as salad. Walking to the tree that had become mine and Neji's spot, I tilted my chin in greeting at the silent pianist, who was uncharacteristically staring at his rubber-looking sandwich. Over the past week, we had gradually grown closer, becoming better and better friends. The day after my first lesson, he came to sit with me again. The next day, again. On the fourth day, I didn't bring my book. On the next day, he didn't bring his. He left his iPod as well. The sixth day, I left mine. By the seventh day, we were exploring the nooks and crannies of the school together. I even invited him to see mine and Shikamaru's concert, but he denied, saying he did not want to miss out on any practice.

Speaking of the concert, it went very well, and we even provoked an encore performance from the crowd. Afterwards, when mingling with the crowd, I even saw Ino there, cuddling with Chouji, the chubby flutist.

I stabbed my lettuce, thinking back at the past week and all the adventures it held. The exciting practices with Shikamaru, the making up with Hinata, on Neji's advice, and through that, making up with Lee. Sakura and I still hated each other, though. I didn't know why she bothered me so much; maybe it was because she always had what I wanted. I knew, however, that she and Sasuke had started dating, much to the dismay of Lee, who cried about it into my lap for two days. This made me even more angry at her: how dare she break Lee's heart? However, even though I was friends again with them, I still spent all of my free time with Neji. I even invited him to watch me play at the modern music competition, in which my "band" had decided to play the piece, "Monster", by Skillet, but, again, he declined, on the grounds that he wanted to practice.

Speaking of the competition, I quickly realized how difficult it was to work with Tsunade, especially on the first day she came in to work with my group. That day, I was extremely excited, taking extra time to dress nicely and make sure my buns were in place. It was a wasted effort, however, as she did not take any special notice in me at all, the only comment she had directed towards me being a comparison to her treasured student, Sakura. That night, I went to bed with my teeth gnashing, not even bothering to say "goodnight" to Temari, whose pajamas seemed to hang off of her body, not. The next day, Tsunade did not even show up, deciding that she'd rather coach her precious Sakura. Luckily, Anko stepped in and pushed us through a terrible practice. For the rest of the week, we were on our own, as Anko had to practice for her own concert and Tsunade could not ear to leave Sakura. Every time I thought about it, my fingers trembled in fury. Despite this, we did pretty well, Gaara's demonic voice matching the dark theme of the music. He was even to manage the low, "Monster" growl near the end of the song. By the day of the competition, we were sounding like a real band, the talent of each musician shining through.

Of course, on the actual day of the competition, my band had to carpool with Anko, the five of us squeezing into the back of her mid-sized Sudan, while Sakura's band got to ride with Tsunade in her large, luxurious van. The stage was in a larger recital hall than I was used to, but smaller than the largest I had ever played in. The five of us sat nervously backstage, in our dressing room, as we overheard the variety of songs leaking into our room, mostly pop. Hinata had left ages ago, with shifty eyes and a claim that she needed to use the restroom. Unable to listen to any more competitors, I sprang from my seat, muttering something about finding Hinata. I wandered a little, wondering about life and love, pondering the fluttery feeling in my stomach that I got every time I saw Neji, and worrying about Temari, who seemed to keep getting thinner and thinner. I walked around backstage, occasionally peering into different rooms, mostly empty, until I heard some strange moaning from one. A little curious and a lot innocent, I took a look, screeching at what I saw. Hinata and Naruto were entangled in a complex kiss, her arms locked around his neck and his hands under her shirt. I backed away slowly as they turned towards me and jumped away from each other when they saw who I was. I sprinted away, hearing the lingering cry of "Don't tell Neji!" which echoed through the air. I arrived back in our dressing room, collapsing onto the couch.

"Find her?" the deep voice of Gaara asked from under me.

I looked up into his deep, green eyes, to find that I had fallen onto his lap, his legs propped up against the coffee table. Patting his stomach and rolling over so that I was laying down on the couch, with Gaara's lap as my pillow, I shook my head. Seeing that I was not going to get up anytime soon, he snorted and went back to cleaning his nails. Kiba snickered at me and Hinata walked in, face bright red. I gave her a knowing smirk and she nearly fainted.

"Let's go, maggots! You're up, next." Anko burst into our dressing room, making me jump off of Gaara and promptly trip over my own feet doing it. The red-head smirked as he steadied me and I flicked his forehead, telling him to shut up.

We followed our coach to the backstage area where we were met by Tsunade. She nodded at us and motioned us onto the stage, obviously eager to get back to prepping Sakura and her band. My hands clenched into fists. We'll show her. We'll give the best performance out there. I made eye contact with the rest of the band and saw that they were thinking the exact same thing.

"Next up, from the Tsunade School of Music, please welcome Group Number 511, playing the Skillet song, _Monster_!"

Before I knew what was happening, Kiba gave me a light shove, and I stumbled onto the stage, jogging to the electric keyboard that was set up near the edge. The five of us made eye contact again and I saw Gaara give a nod to Kankuro, signaling him to start us off. The brown haired boy nodded, and tapped his drumsticks, counting us off.

"One, two, one two three four!"

And we started. The entire thing passed in a blur. All I remembered was my fingers flying over the keyboard, watching Hinata sway in time with her electric violin, Kiba playing his viola in place of the bass in the original song, Kankuro's arms in a blur over the drum set and Gaara's low and demonic voice.

_I, I feel like a monster!_

By the end of the song, the crowd erupted in applause, and I could even hear screaming and whistling. Grinning, I took a bow along with the rest of the band and we walked off of the stage together. A few bands later, Sakura's went up, playing a song a little similar to ours, one called "Riot" by Three Days Grace.

After a couple more bands, it was judgment time, and the five of us went up there nervously. I gripped Hinata's hand tightly in mine, and grabbed Gaara's in my other.

"And, in third place, we have the stunning performance of "Riot!" Band number 520!"

Sakura and Lee skipped up to accept the medals.

"Second place, we have "Monster," Number 511!"

It didn't register in my brain until Gaara pulled on my hand to drag me up to the announcer to accept the trophy and medals.

I couldn't believe it, we had beat Sakura's band! Take that, Tsunade!

The entire was home, we cheered in the back of Anko's car, stopping at Ben and Jerry's for Anko to treat us to some ice cream.

oO0Oo

"Hey, did you hear about the concert tonight?"

I was startled out of my flashback by Neji's quiet voice. Seeing his white eyes on me, I quickly answered that I did not.

"They're having the best violinist in the state, Jiraiya, the best cellist, Orochimaru, and Tsunade playing tonight."

I nodded, "Cool."

"Would you like to meet beforehand? It's a formal event, so they're actually serving edible food for dinner. We could eat together and watch the concert together if you'd like. You know, as friends."

Was that a hint of pink I detected on his face?

"Sure." I said, fighting to keep my voice calm, the butterflies in my stomach intensifying in numbers.

He nodded and tilted his head back against the tree, staring off into the distance. I followed his gaze and frowned. Sakura stood, talking to Sasuke, her head tilted back in a laugh. As if feeling my gaze on her, she turned to meet my glare. Slowly, she held up her right hand and extended the middle finger, flipping me off. I snarled as Sasuke slid his arm gently around her waist and led her away. Neji turned at the feral sound from my lips, but I waved him off.

"You know, you really outta make up with her. All this drama is bad for you." He said, still staring at me.

I shrugged and turned away.

The rest of the day passed quickly, and before I knew it, I was in my room, picking out a pair of dress pants. I felt Temari punch my shoulder, much softer than before, and looked to her sunken face. Something was defiantly up with her. She smiled and clucked her tongue.

"No pants." She said, pulling the fabric from my fingers.

"But I don't have a dress." I said, pouting, "And even if I did, I hate dresses, so I wouldn't wear it."

"No problem. I can find you one." She said, ignoring the second half of my complaint.

"Why?" I asked her, as she rummaged through her trunk. She turned to me and grinned.

"This is your night to impress Neji!" She exclaimed.

"Wha-" I yelled, backing up and somehow into Deidara's arms.

"Hinata told us you were meeting him tonight."

I saw Hinata emerge from the bathroom, twiddling her fingers and looking nervous.

"Neji told me that you two were meeting."

"Wait, I don't like him like that!" I screamed, thrashing in Deidara's hold. "Hinata! Help me! I'll tell Neji about what I saw at the competition!"

The timid girl squeaked, but did not come to my assistance.

Temari looked curious, but, nevertheless, continued rummaging through her trunk.

"Please. We've seen how you look at him. You are so in love."

Oh, god. No way. But it made perfect sense. The butterflies, the uncontrollable blushing, the quick friendship. Oh, god.

"I'm in love with him." I said, my eyes wide.

Deidara rolled her eyes and let me go.

"Yes. God, you're slow."

I opened my mouth to protest, but the blonde cut me off.

"I'm gonna change and do Hinata's makeup. We have the bathroom to ourselves since Ino's gone to Sakura's place to get ready. Call me when you and Tenten find dresses."

And with that, she grabbed Hinata's hand and dragged the girl through the bathroom and to her dorm.

Seeing that Temari would be a while, I went to the bed and hopped on, opening my book. Soon after, I was startled out of the dramatic world by Temari's yell.

"Found it!" she shouted, holding up a black cloth. I sighed, At least it wasn't pink.

She tossed it at me and stepped into the bathroom. I slipped out of my oh-so-comfortable jeans and t-shirt and pulled the dress over my head. It fit quite well, considering Temari was at least three inches taller than me. The top was sleeveless, and a little too snug around my breasts for my comfort. It clenched in at the waist and blossomed out into a full skirt, going down to my knees. A delicate red design was stitched into the dress, starting at the hem and working its way up the skirt. I slipped on the single, black, fingerless, lace glove that had tossed me, folded inside the dress, and stepped into my only pair of high heels. The straps wrapped around my ankles and I snapped my cell phone onto the right one. Looking in the mirror, I decided that I looked incredibly stupid with my buns and grungy face on top of the beautiful dress.

Almost immediately, Temari threw open the bathroom door and grabbed me by the arm, pulling me into Deidara's room.

"The dress looks good on you." She said, sitting me down on what I assumed to be Deidara's bed.

Said blonde looked amazing, with her normal ponytails traded in for a more elegant bun. She had left her bangs down, which framed her face nicely, if not making it seem too thin. She was wearing a black, knee-length dress with a design on the side that matched her eyes. The elegant stitching resembled fans and moons, matching the small charms she had on her shoes. A thin chain hung around her neck, a green circle hanging from it. She had fishnet stockings on under the dress, which were cut off at mid thigh. She also wore fishnet gloves and, at the moment, was busy shoving her cell phone into her bra.

"I think we need to work on makeup first." Deidara said, advancing on me with eyeliner in her hand. She was all ready, hair and makeup already done. She had lost her half-ponytail and settled for an elegant twist instead. Her dress ended an inch above the knee and had a small split up to the middle of her thigh. The red color of it contrasted beautifully against her hair and skin.

I twisted away from her, but she grabbed my face and stared me down.

"Tenten. You're already in the dress. Just accept the makeup."

I sighed and told her to do her worst.

After Deidara finished, Hinata started on my hair, first taking out my buns. I let it go without a fight, as I knew I couldn't win. She was very gentle with my hair, careful not to burn me with the straightener as she pulled my long hair out of its natural waves. I sat and observed her white dress swishing around her knees and the simple flower in her hair as she tilted my head up to see the finished product.

The two blondes squealed at my appearance, and Hinata took my by the hand and gently led me to the mirror. I was shocked by what I saw: a tall, brunette, and beautiful girl. Deidara had taken my grungy look and somehow made it into a masterpiece. Hinata changed my limp buns into sleek and shiny hair.

"Wait." I heard Temari say as I admired my transformation. "There's something missing."

I heard her rummage through her trunk again for a few minutes, and she quickly came up behind me, wrapping a ribbon around my neck.

When she finished, I looked again, and saw that she had fastened a black choker, with a single, silver charm in the shape of an ancient ninja weapon around my neck. I looked beautiful.

Tearing up a little, I threw my arms around the three girls' necks and thanked them all. Deidara laughed and pushed me towards the door, teasing that my "Prince Charming" was waiting for me.

We walked to the cafeteria together, and when we got there, I gasped. The normally messy place was filled with small, two-person tables covered with spotless, white tablecloths, and menus on top. A few students were already there, waiting for their friends. Hinata left us quickly when she spotted Naruto, prompting a nudge and snicker from me. Temari walked off to argue with Shikamaru minutes later. Deidara and I talked for a while until Sasori slipped his arm around her waist and whispered something in her ear. Blushing, she told me that she had to go and left. Feeling awkward, I sat down at a table and stared off into the distance.

"You-you look good."

I looked up and saw Gaara tugging on his red shirt uncomfortably. I smiled and gave him an awkward half-hug.

"You do too."

I heard a snicker and saw Kankuro thwacking Gaara on the head.

"You hitting on my little brother, Tenten?"

I glared at him and punched him in the shoulder. He laughed and pulled me into a bear hug.

We talked for a little while, until I heard a light clearing of a throat behind me.

I turned to see Neji, his long hair left down and wearing a white dress shirt. I smiled and gave him a hug, blushing as I did so.

Kankuro wolf-whistled and I shooed him away, throwing a dinner roll at him.

Neji and I sat down awkwardly and immediately, a waiter came running towards us. I ordered a salad and Neji, a pasta. We ate in silence and, after an hour, Neji offered his arm to me and led me to the auditorium, where the concert was to be held. We weren't to wait for long, as the legendary trio walked up onto the stage within minutes. Tsunade walked with a prideful stride, with Anko hurrying after her, fumbling over her books. Jiraiya sauntered on with a calm walk, eyes clearly fixated on Tsunade's ass. Orochimaru arrived last, with an angry slouch.

The three of them immediately began playing, before the applause even stopped. The beautiful music immediately made silence fall over the crowd and an awed expression on everyone's face.

I placed my hand at the edge of my seat, leaning forward to better hear the music. Glancing down, I saw that Neji had placed his hand near the edge of his seat as well. I moved my hand a little closer, testing the waters, and Neji moved his as well. Soon, the backs of our hands were brushing up against each others, all thoughts of music forgotten.

_Make the move. Do it. Grab my hand!_

I felt his hand twitch to hold mine, and as I was about to give up on him making the first move, his large hand engulfed my own. Stunned, I looked up at him. He stared forward, face bright red and determined to not look at me. I smiled a little and turned back to the concert. He didn't let go until the end.

After the concert was over, he hurried out of the room, quickly dipping his head to kiss me on the cheek before running off.

I squealed as I entered my room, "Neji kissed me!"

"Yeah, bitch! You get some fuckin' ass!"

I turned to see Hidan, along with the rest of the Akatsuki in my dorm, with Temari and Hinata sitting on the beds.

"What the actual fuck?"

A blue haired girl in the arms of a orange-haired guy with a lot of piercings laughed at me.

"Deidara invited us. I hope you're okay with that. I'm Konan, and this is Pein, by the way." She motioned to the boy with his arms around her and he nodded at me.

"Yeah, it's fine." I said, waving at the two.

"So… Neji kissed you, huh?" Deidara snickered.

"Oh, shit."


	10. Chapter 10

**Warning: Chapter includes cussing due to Hidan, underage drinking, reference to sex, and a cliche plot line. Sorry bout that... **

Chapter Ten

"I so told you! I so fucking told you so! It was the dress! It was the fucking dress. I win! I so win!"

Deidara hopped off the bed and ran to embrace me. Sasori rolled his eyes as she pushed off of him and leaned over to Zetsu to mutter into his ear,

"I think she has been hanging around Hidan for too long."

I stifled a giggle as Deidara threw her arms around me and stood rigidly in her embrace. Hidan guffawed, leaning onto Kakuzu, who had a disdainful look on his face, and slapped Pein on the back.

"I am so fucking proud of our bitch." He chortled, pointing at the blonde who was busy swinging me around in circles.

The pierced man glared at the silver-haired, foul mouthed pianist and gently pushed a wary Konan off of his lap. She nervously fingered her Labret and placed a soft hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. He shrugged her off and I swore I heard a feral growl coming from his throat.

"Don't… Touch… Me." He hissed, hands clenching into fists.

Deidara's grip on me tightened and she pulled me into the corner of the room.

"Pein hates to be touched. It took two years of dating Konan before they were even able to hug. I think it has something to do with his past." She whispered into my ear, fear making her voice quiver.

"Okay, man. I'm sorry. I forgot, okay?" Hidan backed away, hands raised in a "I surrender" gesture. Pein continued advancing upon Hidan and the silver haired boy steeled his look and widened his stance to prepare for the inevitable fight.

Luckily, before all hell broke loose and they ruined my half of the room, there was a light knock on the door. I bolted from Deidara's arms to open the door, which revealed Gaara and Kankuro, the former in a large t-shirt and pajama pants and the latter in a black night suit, with… cat ears. From the corner of my eye, I saw Konan take Pein by the hand and gently sit him down, stroking his hair. Temari jumped and tackled the two boys in the doorway, catching me in the embrace. I found myself awkwardly sandwiched between the red-haired singer and the cat-eared drummer. I pushed my way out from the two of them and brushed myself off, straightening my dress, which I had just realized I was still wearing. I stuck my head in my closet and threw a couple things out, before I found the pajamas I was looking for. I walked into the bathroom, calling over my shoulder that I was going to change clothes.

"That's fucking sexy."

I snickered at Hidan's obnoxious voice and shut the door behind me. I saw a flash of pink and yellow and groaned.

"Why are you here?" I asked warily, to the direction of Sakura, who was running a comb through Ino's hair.

She glared at me, "Ino and I are having a sleepover."

_Great_.

Ino, sensing the tension in the room, gently pushed Sakura out of the bathroom and into her dorm. I glared at her pink hair until it disappeared and the door closed. Sighing, I pulled the graphic image of _Heart_ over my head and the shorts over my butt. Walking into my dorm, I found that the group had arranged themselves into a circle, with a bottle in the middle.

"What-?"

Temari gave a weak laugh and patted the space in between her and Gaara, who looked bored. I sat down in the designated space, crossing my legs, and leaned my head against Gaara's shoulder.

"We're playing Truth or Dare: Spin the Bottle Style." Temari said, shoving my shoulder.

I nodded and gestured for them to start.

Kisame spun first, letting the bottle spin for about a minute before landing on Itachi.

"Truth or dare?"

Itachi thought for a minute before choosing the latter.

"Yes!" Kisame exclaimed, fist pumping and doing a little dance in the face of a bored-looking Itachi. "I dare you to find Sasuke, give him a big hug, and tell him that he is the best little brother ever."

The older Uchiha nodded and headed towards the door, only to be stopped by Deidara.

"No way are you going alone. I have to see this."

Kisame nodded in agreement and the two jumped up to follow him. Itachi rolled his eyes and pushed the door open, with his two groupies following after. I could swear that I heard Sasori sigh.

Within minutes, the three were back, Itachi with a slightly red face. Deidara was laughing very hard, borderline snorting, and had to lean against Kisame to even stand straight. Immediately, Sasori was by her side, pulling her from Kisame and onto himself.

"How was it?" Konan asked.

Not replying, Itachi sat down and spun the bottle.

"Gaara. Truth or dare."

"True."

"Are you a virgin?"

"No."

All of this happened within the span of one second, and before I knew it, the bottle was spinning again- slowing down- stopping. On me.

Gaara raised an eyebrow at me in a questioning way. _Truth or dare?_

My own eyebrows knitted together as I thought to myself: truth or dare? Which was the lesser of two evils? It wasn't until Temari quietly cleared her throat, a full minute later, that I blurted out- mouth defiantly not corresponding with brain,

"Dare- wait!"

But it was too late. Right as the word left my traitorous mouth, Gaara had pulled me to my feet and before I even uttered the word "what," he had already pushed me in front of the bathroom door.

"Go make up with Sakura." He said, gesturing for me to move into the restroom.

"_What?_" My eyes narrowed dangerously as I attempted to glare down Gaara.

The red head steeled his gaze as he returned my glare and gave me a light shove to the room, "I dare you."

"No."

I could see Temari shift uncomfortably in her spot and Deidara shrink into Sasori as Gaara and I's glaring contest continued.

"I mean," I continued, "Why should I? She-"

I was cut off by his hand over my mouth.

"I don't care what the fight was about and I honestly don't care whose fault it was or whatever. All I know and do care about is that this fight is bothering you, and by result, my sister, and stressing the two of you out. This petty fight is starting to negatively affect you and Temari and you and Sakura need to make up already and get over it."

"Wow. I don't think I've ever heard Gaara say that much in a single run." I heard Kankuro whisper to Temari.

I opened my mouth to protest against Gaara's argument, but found that I had nothing in rebuttal. After I thought about it for a minute, I realized that the red head actually had a point. I was being petty in being jealous of Sakura and, if it was really affecting Temari that much, I might as well suck up my pride and apologize. I sighed in defeat and nodded at the boy, whose eyes softened. I walked into the bathroom and took a deep breath before rapping my knuckles against the wooden door. It took a couple seconds for it to open, and when it finally did, there was Sakura who had her hand on the knob. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pulled into a feral snarl when she saw me.

"What?" she hissed, already tensing up, ready to slam the door in my face.

"I-I'm sorry." I muttered, looking down , speaking more to my own feet than to the girl standing in front of me.

"Wait. What?" She asked, her tone a little softer, a little curious.

"I'm sorry." I lifted my head to look the girl in the eye, "I was- I was a bitch. I guess I was just really jealous of the fact that you were getting everything that I wanted- everything. Boys, teachers, I mean everything. I'm sorry. I was a bitch. Can we just stop this drama and be friends again? Please?"

Sakura stood silent for a while, eyes wide with confusion. It literally took her an entire minute to recover.

"I'm sorry too. I know you liked Lee. And that you wanted Tsunade. I know she kind of ignored your band for the festival. And I guess I was pretty bitchy, myself." She laughed and I let out a small smile.

"So, friends again?" I held out my hand for her to shake, a little awkwardly.

She took my hand and used it to pull me into a hug. "Of course, silly!"

After we hugged, the two of us stood for a minute before Ino walked in.

"Okay, there is no screaming and no blood is seeping into my room, so I am gonna assume it's safe to come in."

The two of us laughed and Ino looked on confusedly.

"It's cool, pig. The two of us are cool."

Ino smiled and nodded, "Good. Because it was getting tiring listening to Forehead rant about you all day."

I laughed and punched Sakura in the arm.

"Hey, do you guys want to hang with us? We're playing Truth or Dare."

Sakura nodded and grabbed Ino's hand pulling her into my dorm.

"Truth or Dare isn't fun unless you're drunk." she muttered as she walked in.

Hidan jumped up to give Ino a high five, "Fuck yeah! Ay-men!"

The rest of us laughed a little, until I saw Kakuzu pull something out of his jacket.

"Kakuzu. What is that?"

"It's vodka. Yo, Dei! You bring the shot glasses?"

Deidara nodded and gestured for Sasori to follow her into her own dorm.

"Wait, wait, wait. No. We're underage. We shouldn't be drinking." Sakura chastised, ever the goody-two-shoes, as I nodded in agreement.

Everyone in the room rolled their eyes at the two of us, Hidan standing up to throw an arm around each of us.

"Lemmie tell you something. You're gonna get shit-faced sometime in your life. Do it now. It's fucking fun. Be adventurous. 'Sides, not like any of the dumb-ass advisors will catch us."

I looked to Temari and Gaara for guidance and both of them nodded, Temari with a sly smirk on her face. Seeing this, I shrugged and took a glass from Deidara, who had returned from her dorm and was offering one to me. Sakura looked appalled, but with a nudge from Sasori, who was holding a glass to her, she reluctantly took it and sat in between Ino and Kankuro. Kakuzu passed the bottle full of clear liquid around the circle, and after a couple seconds, each glass was filled with the alcohol. Nervous, I glanced to Gaara, who had already downed his first glass, and he gave me a smirk, gently pushing my hand, which was holding the shot glass, towards my face. I took a deep breath and relaxed my arm, letting Gaara guide the vodka to my mouth.

The drink burned my throat as it went down. It felt like my lungs were on fire. I looked to Sakura to see her reaction, and it seemed that she was going through the same discomfort that I was. I saw her cough a little, hand clutching throat, and lean onto Ino, who was laughing at her.

The bottle was passed around again and, again, the glasses were full. Somewhere along the line, we began playing Truth or Dare again, and before long, we were all drunk. As it turned out, Hidan had the highest alcohol tolerance and when the rest of us were completely wasted, he only had a mild buzz.

Needless to say, truth or dare got a lot more fun. I watched as Kakuzu and Hidan make out, Pein pull a giggling Konan into Ino and Deidara's dorm, Kisame admit his feelings for Itachi, a dark blush on both of their faces, Zetsu throw his arm around Tobi and keep it there, and Sasori trap a very red Deidara under his arm and attempt to stick his tongue down her throat. It was hot.

I can blurrily remember Gaara laughing as he laid down on my lap and stroked my hair, which I had neglected to put back into buns after the concert. Speaking of the concert, in my drunken state, I had spilled all of the not-so-dirty details to my girlfriends- and to the rest of the Akatsuki. The girls had cooed and awwed while the guys tried to look disinterested.

"Fuckin' *hic* fuckin' pussy." Hidan had slurred, before promptly falling asleep.

By the end of the night, all of the boys had fallen asleep, Gaara still in my lap. Pein and Konan had exited Deidara and Ino's dorm, red faced, and had slipped to one of their dorms to "do the dirty." Sasori had his face buried in Deidara's still flat chest and, surprisingly, she did nothing about it. It didn't take long for us girls to start talking about our love- and, by definition, sex- lives.

"So, I'm gonna steal Itachi's Truth or Dare question, here, but is anyone a virgin?"

Everyone except for me and Sakura shook their heads. All three heads turned to the two of us and, although my face remained blank, Sakura's turned bright red.

"No." She whispered, not sounding drunk at all, "I'm not."

"So it's just Tenten?"

I glared at Deidara, but ruined the effect by giggling, "Yes, I am. But Sakura's not?"

The attention swung back to the pink-haired girl and she blushed even harder.

"Who?" was the unanimous question that rang through the room.

"Sasuke. Right before I came over here. That's what I went to Ino about."

Ino giggled and hiccupped. The rest of us surrounded the pinkette and begged for the story.

Getting a little excited by the attention, Sakura started the story, the alcohol showing through.

"It was right after the concert. We went to the practice room to make out for a bit and things got really heated."

"Who was on top?"

"He was."

"Wait- on the piano?"

"Yep."

"Hot."

Throughout the conversation, I realized that Temari was being very quiet. I turned to her and saw her holding a hand to her forehead.

"You okay?"

She nodded, giving me a faint smile, "Yeah. Just a little dizzy. Must be the alcohol."

I looked at her suspiciously, and right as I was about to dismiss it as the vodka, the blonde fell foreword, face planting on the ground.

"Temari!" I screamed, shocking the girls and waking almost all of the boys. Hidan stayed dead asleep on top of Kakuzu and the latter just rolled over and grunted.

Gaara jumped off of me and picked his sister up. Kankuro began rummaging through her trunk.

"What are you doing?" I asked the elder brother, confused.

"She must have something in here. She must be taking some sort of pill or something. She has never fainted before- aha! Here it is!" He pulled out a small orange bottle about half filled with small pills.

I snatched it from his hand and read the label, "Green Tea Pills. For weight loss. It warns against taking with alcohol."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Immediately, Sakura took over, shouting directions around the room. She gently pried Gaara's arms from around his sister and laid her down on her bed. Looking around, she spotted Zetsu lingering by the door, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Zetsu. Go get a counselor." Her voice was quiet, but stern.

The green-haired teen nodded and exited the room, pulling a groggy Tobi behind him. As the door swung shut, the pinkette walked the perimeter of the room, running a tiny hand through her short hair and giving Gaara and Kankuro sympathetic pats when she passed them.

"You all need to wash your faces with cold water and brush your teeth. Get the smell of alcohol out of your breath. We need to get our story straight, here, if we don't want to get kicked out. I don't know about you guys, but I'd like to stay here for the last couple weeks."

We nodded and Sakura pointed towards Deidara.

"You and Sasori get me some ice. There is a machine a few doors down. I need a full cup and make it snappy."

The blonde nodded and pulled Sasori out of the room.

Sakura then turned her gaze to the two brothers staring worriedly at their fallen sibling. She gave them a reassuring smile and beckoned them to Temari's bedside.

"She'll be fine. But, if Shizune does any tests on her, they'll find not only alcohol, but drugs in her system. Her diet pills will show up. And this camp has a very strict policy against that." She informed them, still bustling over Temari.

Curious, Kankuro asked, "Who's that?"

Sakura explained that Shizune was the camp medic, also Tsunade's past student, and had sort of taken the pinkette under her wing after she realized that they both had an interest in medicine.

"That's why I think I can keep her from performing any tests. She trusts me."

At that moment, Deidara and Sasori returned, the former holding a large cup of ice. Sakura smiled a little and instructed the blonde to fill a wet rag with the ice. Seeing me mulling about, a little uselessly, the pinkette gently pushed me in the direction of the two sleeping forms, telling me to clear them out of the room.

A little nervous, I inched towards the entangled, sleeping teens and nudged the silver-haired one with my foot.

"Hidan? Hidan, get up."

He didn't seem to hear me, so I crouched down next to him, poking his face. His eyebrows furrowed and he swatted my hand away as if it were a pesky fly. Irritated, I jerked his arm upwards, hoping the shock of pain would awaken him. It was of no use, as he jerked his arm right back down and, still holding mine, snuggled deeper into Kakuzu's chest.

"Damnit." I huffed, blowing a stray hair out of my face. I kicked Kakuzu, who proved to be a lighter sleeper than Hidan, and demanded he get Hidan off of me. The green-eyed boy glared at me for a minute before flicking Hidan on the forehead, immediately awakening the crazy boy.

"_Seriously_!? That's all it took?"

Hidan shot me a glare and threw my arm away from him, propelling me across the room.

"Why the fuck did you wake me up? This better be fucking good." He looked murderous.

A little frightened, I squeaked the explanation of Temari's fainting and them needing to get out. The two looked at me like I was crazy and promptly left, bringing their shot glasses and vodka bottles with them.

_Well, that went a lot better than expected._

At that moment, Tobi and Zetsu returned with a mousy, brown haired woman who walked with an air of authority. She looked around the room, and when her eyes landed on Sakura, she picked her way across Temari's mess to speak with her.

Dabbing Temari's forehead with the rag filled with ice, Sakura explained the events of the night in full detail.

"It was really sudden, Shizune. She just suddenly fainted."

Shizune nodded along with the story, and when Sakura arrived at the end, chewed her lip and thought.

"I may need to perform some tests."

Immediately, Sakura pounced, frantically claiming that she could handle it and that Shizune should just give her instruction for the night.

"Look, Sakura. It's not that I don't trust you, because you know I do, but I need to perform tests on this girl. It's camp policy."

"But I am just as capable of taking care of her!" Sakura argued, desperation beginning to sink into her voice.

Shizune looked suspicious, and seemed like she was going to protest, but right outside the door, a loud thump and some pained moaning was heard. Zetsu, who was closest, pulled it open to reveal an agonized Hidan holding a large and bloody bump on his head. Kakuzu stood over him and the rest of the Akatsuki rushed to his side. Shizune looked torn between staying with Temari and going to Hidan, but decided upon the latter with a gentle push from Sakura. She looked at us suspiciously as she walked out the door, followed by the Akatsuki, Deidara with an apologetic look on her face.

It wasn't until the door swung shut that Sakura let out a sigh of relief. We had gotten away with it. Hinata, who had been quiet for almost the entirety of the night inched forward and gave Temari a kiss on the forehead before quietly saying that she had to leave, with a very apologetic look on her face. Ino followed her example and slipped back into her own dorm, leaving me, Sakura, and the three siblings.

I saw Gaara's hands trembling as Sakura bustled over Temari, constantly asking Kankuro to change the ice in her rag. He had his head lowered, eyes cast downwards, towards the ground. I rubbed his back sympathetically and when he raised his eyes to meet mine, I offered a friendly hand towards him. With a slight tilt of the head, he accepted it, gripping it tightly, as if he were to fall if he let go.

The four of us spent the night there, Sakura bustling over Temari, seemingly having already worked the buzz of alcohol off, and Kankuro very quickly falling asleep in my bed. Gaara and I sat on the computer chairs, next to each other and holding hands. He did not sleep, instead opting to stare worriedly at his sister while I struggled to stay awake as to avoid the upcoming hangover. I gave his hand a squeeze and tried to give him a comforting smile. He squeezed back and for the first time since Truth or Dare that night, he spoke.

"How do you feel about him?"

Startled and a little confused, I was unable to answer, instead settling for a very unintelligent "huh?"

"The kid with the white eyes. How do you feel about him? Is it love?"

I blushed, and trying to wiggle out of answering him, I replied with a question of my own, "Why do you care?"

He shrugged, looking off to the side. "I dunno. Just humor me."

Finally realizing that he was trying to distract himself from the situation at hand, I gave him a quiet reply, "I don't know."

"How can you not know?"

"I just don't. I feel… different around him."

He nodded and offered to help me figure it out. I smiled and thanked him.

"How do you feel when you're around him?"

"I-I just feel like… I'm on a cloud. It's like I'm drunk. But, at the same time, I'm completely sober. It's like I'm flying, but I'm still on the ground. I trust him after such a short time of knowing him, but I'm so scared he'll hurt me."

This conversation went on until morning, where Gaara proclaimed that I was in love with Neji, prompting a squeal from Sakura, who had been eavesdropping the entire time.

It was about five in the morning when Deidara returned, hastily shoving a torn and wrinkled piece of paper in my hand before almost floating off to bed. I looked down and saw a messy scrawl that must have been Hidan's.

_Hey, you owe me. If I get kicked out for this, you definitely owe me. And Kakuzu. He wants money._

I laughed. So Hidan did care. I passed the paper around the room, prompting a humorous break from the grave situation, and, as if revived by our laughter, Temari finally awoke. She sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes and looking around. When her gaze fell upon Gaara and I, it froze, a blank expression on her face. It quickly turned to confusion for a minute before she seemed to remember what happened, and blinked and lowered her eyes. Gaara was at her bed in two seconds flat, half dragging a half-asleep Kankuro. Quickly, he whipped out the orange bottle of diet pills that he had most likely stashed in his pocket the night before.

"Why?" He demanded, anger evident in his tone.

Temari kept her head lowered, childishly refusing to respond. She stayed that way until I went up to her, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. It was then that she broke down in my arms, sobs and hiccups coming from her mouth, her tears staining my pajamas.

"I-I can't any-anymore. It's-too much-pressure!" She mumbled, making her words unable to be understood. She continued to cry until she saw her brothers, Kankuro finally awake and staring at her in concern. Immediately, she shut down again, refusing to speak or look at any of us. Quickly catching on, I shooed the two out of the room, whispering that she'd tell them when she was ready when they hesitated. When they were gone, Sakura and I hopped on her bed and the blonde broke down yet again.

After we calmed her down, Temari finally told us her story.

"I was always bullied as a child. Because of my weight. When I was 3, my mother died, and, not knowing how to raise kids, my father became neglecting. All we had to eat was junk food and my metabolism is not as fast as my brothers'. I quickly became overweight and the target for all the kids to bully. I never had a friend. Even in middle and high school, the closest I've had to friends were my brothers, and they had their own schedules to attend to. It wasn't until my sophomore year in high school that someone finally stood up for me. You remember Shikamaru, right? He was in our chamber group? He's a year under me and goes to my school. It was a chilly day and I was wearing a fluffy coat to cover my fat. These girls kept teasing me and I was just on the verge of crying when that lazy-ass came in. He told them to back off- that I was an awesome person. I think that's when I fell for him. I don't know what happened after that, but no one ever picked on me again. Shika helped me get my act together. I lost weight and we became friends. But, this summer, we got into a big fight. He didn't like that I was meeting all the men that my father was setting me up with. It got really dramatic when we came here-"

Here, she broke down again, and it took another five minutes to calm her down again. When she did, she told us about her and Shikamaru's climax in their fight and how he told her that she was nothing without him, just another fatass on the street. And that's when it started.

"I paid an acquaintance to get me the pills and stopped eating. I exercised like crazy and avoided Shika. He tried to talk to me a few times, but I always felt."

The two of us nodded and sympathetically patted her shoulder. After ten minutes of sympathy, Sakura stood up and proclaimed that Temari needed to confront Shikamaru- get it over with. The blonde's eyes widened in fear and she shook her head frantically. I pulled her into a hug and the two of us convinced the blonde that it was for the best. By now, it was already 6:45 in the morning and we had to get ready to get to breakfast.

I let Sakura borrow some of my clothing and the three of us, all made up and fresh, Temari sporting a slight headache from crying and alcohol, walked down to the cafeteria together. When we arrived, I spotted Neji and attempted to wave him over, but he ignored me and sat with Shino and Kiba. I shrugged, thinking that he did not see me, and vowed to talk to him during my free time. I felt Temari freeze up and saw her staring in the direction of a crowd coming at us. In that crowd, I spotted Shikamaru slouching towards us with an indifferent attitude. The blonde shrank into me and I patted her back encouragingly as Sakura called the pineapple head over.

"Temari has something to say to you." She said as I gave the mentioned girl a light push to him.

He looked at her expectantly and she stuttered, "I-I…"

Sakura squeezed her hand and gave her a fierce nod and I could see that she gained all sorts of confidence from that.

"I think you are a complete ass hole." She said, leaving him a shocked expression, "You knew about my weight problem and you had the gall to bring it up in front of others. You know, you hurt me in more ways than one, and I don't think I want someone like you in my life. I've been thinking, and I've decided that the day I need a friend like you is the day I pop myself a squat over the can and _shit_ one out."

Despite the language and anger, I couldn't help but smile. There was the old and great Temari.

Shikamaru seemed stunned, unable to process the rant. He stood, gape-jawed for a minute until I shoved him out of his trance.

"Temari. I'm so sorry. I was angry. And, maybe, a little jealous." He stepped towards her.

"You think a sorry can cover this? NO! You stabbed me in the back and you think a _sorry_ will make things-"

She was cut off by Shikamaru's lips on hers. Sakura and I backed away, and two seconds later, Temari's fist was on his cheek.

"_You think that you can just kiss me and it will be better? Why, I outta-"_

Hearing her start another rant, Sakura and I decided that we had overstayed our welcome in Temariland and promptly booked it out of there.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hey, guys! Sorry it took so long to get this story updated! I haven't forgotten, I promise! I've just had a lot going on lately... But anyways, here's chapter twelve. Only a couple more chapters until the end! Anyone excited? I know I am! :)**

Chapter Twelve

Sakura and I walked around for a while, having nothing to do. Earlier, Tsunade had made an announcement that the classes and lessons today would be cancelled due to a recital that all the teachers participated in and we, the students, were free to roam the halls and practice rooms to our content.

Soon after we left Shikamaru and the fuming Temari, Sakura spotted Ino, Kiba, and Sasuke and left me with a hasty goodbye. Alone, I wandered a little more, hoping to run into Neji. However, after half an hour of looking, I came up empty-handed and gave up. I ran back to my room, passing Temari, who was still yelling at Shikamaru; Hinata and Naruto, the former's cheeks red in… anger? and Sasori and Deidara, who looked to be in a heated argument; to grab my book and iPod so I could read and enjoy the sunshine.

When I finally arrived at _our_ tree, I fell onto my butt in the shady crook of the trunk and pulled my headphones above my ears, opening the book to lose myself in the world of _Les Miserables_.

Not five minutes had passed before I heard the faint sound of a human voice above my loud music.

"You know, this is all your fault."

I looked up to see Shikamaru, his normally spiky ponytail falling out and his clothing ripped. Putting my book down, I calmly lowered my headphones and tilted my chin, signaling for the boy to elaborate.

"Temari punched me. Multiple times. And it hurt." He explained in his lazy drawl.

I stuck my tongue out at him, scrunching up my nose. "And how, exactly, is that my fault?"

He narrowed his eyes at me, seemingly unsure if I was being sarcastic or sincere. Deciding upon the latter, he raised an accusing finger at my nose and shook it slowly, as if disciplining a dog.

"You told her to do it."

I shook my head and giggled, unable to help it.

_He is way too naïve._

"All I said to her was that it would most likely help to talk to you. The punching was her idea."

Shikamaru continued to glare at me, but his tone softened a little. "I know I hurt her really bad. I know what I said caused her to starve herself. She told me all of that. I just don't know how I can fix it. And trust me, I really do. " He sighed and fell down next to me, lacing his fingers behind his head. "This is just all too troublesome."

I patted his messed-up hair and laughed.

"I think you just need to drop some balls and apologize to her. Really, sincerely apologize. Nothing half-assed or cliché. Do it from your heart. And don't randomly kiss her. That was weird. Why did you do it, anyways?"

He suddenly turned bright red and jumped up, backing away and frantically waving his hands in front of him.

"Uh, th-thanks for the advice, Tenten! I-I'll definitely do that!"

And with that, the promptly turned around and ran away.

_Men…_ I thought to myself, rolling my eyes.

Just then, Naruto appeared out of nowhere, plopping himself beside me and throwing a friendly arm over my shoulder. I leaned away from him and tilted my head.

"Yes?" I asked, grabbing his arm between my thumb and forefinger and taking it off of my neck.

He grinned at me, white teeth shining in the sunlight.

"So, uh, Tenten! You're friends with Hinata, right?"

"…Yes?"

"I think she's mad at me, but she won't say why, so, you should talk to her for me, okay? Thanks!"

And, without giving me a chance to reply, he stood up and left.

"Wait! I-" but he had already disappeared.

Shaking my head, I whispered to myself, "men."

I was about to put my headphones back on and continue reading when a long shadow obstructed my light and heat. Slightly annoyed, I again lowered my headphones and raised my eyes to the person in front of me and _almost_ growled, "Yes?"

Sasori raised a red eyebrow at me and sat down a good distance in front of me.

Without even a hello or wave, he said, "I have a question."

"Go ahead."

"What do I do about Deidara?"

Slightly confused, I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Elaborate?" I requested.

He glared at me and gracefully stood up, not using his hands at all.

"Never mind," he mumbled, barely moving his lips, "You're no help."

He spun on his heel and stomped away, the back of his neck very red, leaving me stunned and even more annoyed and confused.

"Gah! Men!"

I smacked my own forehead and fell back against the tree.

Deciding to give up on reading, I quickly gathered all of my things and stood, planning on going to the practice rooms. After all, this _was_ a music camp. I scurried back to my room to drop my book off and pick my sheet music up, and afterwards, walked to the practice rooms. Many of them were empty, as a lot of the students chose to take advantage of the day off and relax a little. However, there were two or three that were taken. I saw Hinata in one of them, furiously playing her violin, cheeks still red, and made a note to talk to her about Naruto later. As I wandered to the end of the hall, towards the three rooms with grand pianos, I witnessed Ino and Kiba working together on what sounded like a beautiful duet, Gaara work on scales, some kids that I had seen around camp playing various instruments, and Sakura and Sasuke eating each others' faces in one of the piano rooms. I made a mental note to never go in there again. In the other grand piano room, I saw Anko practicing for her part in the recital, with Kakashi sitting in the corner, nose buried in his little orange book. From the last room, I did not hear any sound, so, not looking, I pushed on the door and attempted to walk in. The only problem was that there was a Neji attempting to get out.

"Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed, even as his papers went flying into the air and I went flying into his chest.

His arms awkwardly wrapped around my waist to balance me and his face turned bright red. I laughed a little and, to try and avoid the impending awkward, I fell to my knees and started picking his papers up. Upon grabbing one of them, Neji's messy scrawl caught my eye. Curiosity won over and I looked over it, seeing handwritten notes instead of nicely printed ones. The title made me gasp slightly and blush wildly. _Tenten's Song._

Cheeks red, I held the paper out to Neji and asked, "Did you write this?"

Seeing the paper, his face turned and even brighter red and he nodded, hands shaking as he took it from my hands.

"Can-can I hear it?"

Neji blushed harder and nodded, seemingly too embarrassed to speak. The two of us made our way to the piano in silence and he sat on the bench, setting up the music. I stood off to the side, leaning a little onto the piano as he moved the bench in and re-adjusted the height.

Taking a deep breath, he began playing, and immediately, I was entranced. The song he had titled after me was beautiful, and he played it with such passion and raw flavor that I was paralyzed with feeling. The _fortes, staccatos, pianos, _and _legatos_ were so beautifully written, and executed so well. The song itself was happy, bubbly, but at points, slow and romantic. And Neji played it with such passion, so beautifully. The way Neji played made me want to listen to him forever, doing nothing more than leaning on the crappy, old piano and listen to him play.

When he finished, Neji stared at me, as if waiting for my approval.

"Neji… That's… beautiful." I whispered, unable to properly speak.

He smiled and stood up, walking towards me, a hint of pink still on his cheeks.

"It is not even a candle compared to the flame of your beauty." He whispered back, gently cupping my face.

Unable to help it, I giggled a little at his cheesy line.

"Did Lee tell you to say that?" I asked, still not wanting to break the lingering magic with a loud voice.

He gave me his signature smirk and wrapped his other arm around my waist, pulling me closer.

"Perhaps."

His face was so close. If I just leaned forward, we would be kissing. I could feel his cool breath on my face.

Suddenly embarrassed, I looked down, red flushing my cheeks. He chuckled a little and used his finger to lift my chin.

"Hey," he whispered, and kissed me.

I have kissed many guys in my past, and I am not ashamed to admit it. There was Zaku, in the back of Kin's car, Kabuto, in the back of the band hall, Suigetsu, as a dare, and the list goes on. But none of them were as amazing as kissing Neji. I literally saw fireworks. As the kiss deepened, I shut my eyes and felt the butterflies in my stomach go up to my throat. And I loved it. I loved the feeling of Neji's lips against mine. I loved that his hands didn't wander. I loved it.

We finally broke apart after God-knows-how-long and I felt a smile creep upon my face.

"Wow." I breathed, still flushed.

"Yeah." He said, resting his forehead against mine, though he had to lean down a considerable amount to do that.

We stayed like that for a while until we heard a tap on the door. Looking out the small window embedded into the wood of the door, we saw Anko, Sakura, Kakashi, and Sasuke. My coach gave me a thumbs up and a wink and I saw Sakura doing a victory dance in the background. Kakashi was mouthing _get some_ to Neji and Sasuke gave him a silent nod of approval. My face flushed red and I wildly waved my hands, shooing all of them away. Anko laughed and nodded, turning around and walking away, pulling Kakashi and a very unwilling Sakura away. Sasuke followed with a slouch and hands in his pockets.

"That was slightly embarrassing." I nervously laughed as Neji gathered me up in his arms again.

"Yeah?" he asked before claiming my mouth with his own again.

_I'm okay with this_.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

I had barely walked into my room when I was tackled by Sakura, who, apparently, was just waiting to ambush me, and Ino, who just had to know all the latest gossip.

"Tell me everything!" The pinkette exclaimed, trapping me in her tight grasp, "All the juicy details; don't skimp out on anything!"

Hinata trailed behind the pinkette, nervously poking her fingers together and looking at me apologetically. I sighed and motioned for the three girls, as well as Deidara and Temari, who were looking on with amused expressions, to sit, though this task proved difficult, seeing as Sakura still had a death grip on me. Without wasting any time, the five girls arranged themselves in a circle, with a small space in between Ino and Sakura for me. Deidara quickly pulled out her remaining food, and, after I settled into my spot, the six of us began to feast on Oreos, Chef Boyardee, and chips.

"Can you believe a month has already passed? We have the Chamber Music recital tonight!" I started, trying to steer the conversation away from me and Neji.

"I know!" Temari exclaimed, saving me from Ino and Sakura, who looked murderous, "We barely got to practice! But I know that we'll do awesome! I mean, we had Anko, didn't we?"

I laughed and nodded, glancing at the formal white blouse and black dress pants that I had laid out on my bed.

"You know what?" Deidara asked, throwing an arm around Hinata, who looked nervous, on one side, and a scheming Ino on the other, "We should have a slumber party tomorrow. Us and the boys. After all, it will be the last day."

Hinata looked unsure, "Isn't that forbidden? Boys aren't allowed in girls' dormitories after hours…"

Deidara snorted and Sakura giggled. "Hinata, honey. No one follows that rule. Why, I've been in Sasuke's dorm room more times after dark than I care to remember!" Sakura replied, not at all ashamed of what she had said. Hinata squeaked and hid behind her hands.

"Then, it's settled. Us and the boys, that is, Sasuke, Shika, Naruto, Sasori and the rest of the Akatsuki, Gaara, Kankuro, Lee, and Neji in our suite?" Temari asked, nibbling on the side of a chip.

Hinata came out from behind her hands long enough to ask, "Will your dorm be big enough?"

"Course," Temari answered at once, "We fit all of the Akatsuki plus my brothers here once, didn't we?"

"True…" The rest of us agreed.

"Now, all that's left is to invite the boys. Oh, and Sakura?"

The pinkette looked up from her phone, which she had already pulled out to text Sasuke.

"No sex."

Sakura cursed and lowered her head to continue texting, this time, with much less gusto.

I laughed and she turned towards me, eyes gleaming with a mischievous glare. I couldn't help but gulp as I saw the glint of her smile.

"Tell me what happened with Neji."

The rest of the girls looked on with renewed interest.

"We kissed. But you saw that."

Temari gasped, placing a hand on her chest and pretending to sway delicately.

"Tenten! You kissed Neji and you didn't tell me? I thought we were friends!"

I punched her in the shoulder, "Shut up."

Sakura rolled her eyes at my response. "You know what I mean. Tell me what happened leading up to it. Was it romantic? Did he ask you to be his girlfriend? Did he use tongue? Was it good?" Here, she stopped her barrage of questions to gasp, eyes filled with wonder, "Did you guys have sex after we left? Is that why you shooed us away?"

"Sakura!" I exclaimed, shocked by her lack of modesty and flustered by her bluntness, "No!"

She laughed and slung her arm around my shoulders, "Give me the details, woman!"

"Okay, okay! It was romantic, he didn't ask me to be his girlfriend, he did use tongue, and it was the best kiss I ever experienced."

_Cue the awww_.

"Wait, wait, wait." Ino stopped the festivities to ask, "You're telling me that he kissed you, but you're not dating?"

The girls looked confused, as if the very notion were a foreign concept to them.

"He didn't exactly ask me out…" I paused for dramatic effect, enjoying the expressions of my friends.

"For god's sake, woman, _tell us_!" Deidara shouted, unable to wait any longer.

"Alright, alright. He wrote me a song."

_Cue the awww x2._

"I am so excited about this! When camp is over, you guys have to double with me and Sasucakes!" Sakura exclaimed, stars in her eyes.

I snorted, "You call his Sasucakes?"

"Well, not to his face." Sakura smiled an evil smile.

For the next three hours, the six of us just kind of hung out, spilling secrets, having pillow fights, and finally, getting ready for the Chamber Music recital. Within the three hours, I found out that Temari was so hopelessly head-over-heels in love with Shikamaru that if he were to just apologize just one more time, she would not only forgive him, but she would jump him and attack him with hugs and kisses; that Hinata was angry with Naruto letting it slip to Neji that they were dating; that Deidara had sex with Sasori in a tuba locker; that Ino was thinking about dumping Chouji, the chubby flutist from Shikamaru's band, because he just didn't seem to care about what she said; and that Sakura enjoyed sneaking into Sasuke's room while his roommate was out to have hot, steamy shower sex with him. I could have gone my whole life without knowing the last part.

When it came time for everyone to get ready for the recital, Sakura and Hinata ran back to their respective dorms to grab their clothing, and the rest of us started on hair and makeup. Luckily for me, there were more people, so I got away with the slightest hint of eyeliner and mascara and my signature buns. When everyone was finally finished and beautiful, the six of us headed towards the concert hall together. When we got there, we split up, Deidara and Hinata going off into the audience-they would not play until near the end, Sakura and Ino running for the wings of the stage, and Temari and I going to the practice room.

When we got there, Shikamaru wasted no time in grabbing Temari's hands and apologizing profusely to her, and Temari wasted no time in wrapping Shikamaru in a hug. When the two finally broke apart, we ran through our piece a few times and Anko gave us a pep talk. Before long, we were up on stage and setting up to perform.

Now, I had performed many times before, in crowds much bigger than this, but to be in front of my friends, my peers, performing a piece I barely had time to practice alone, let alone with the group, the mere thought of it made me freeze up. Looking around the audience, I struggled to find a face-any face that I could focus on. I knew that Temari was waiting for my tuning note, and I knew the audience was waiting for us to start, but I simply could not move. I was paralyzed. Luckily, my eyes quickly found Neji's, in the front row, middle. He gave me a calm, small smirk, and instantly, I was at ease.

The rest of the recital went without flaw, everyone doing so well. My Chamber group made very few and small mistakes. In fact, we liked working together so much that we decided to stay a group. Everyone exchanged phone numbers and agreed to stay in touch. As Naruto and I typed our numbers in the others' phone, I whispered to him, "Hinata is angry because you told Neji about your relationship. Just explain to her why you did it." He nodded at me and bounded away, shouting for the indigo-haired girl.

As I watched him bounce away, I felt Neji's presence behind me and I fell into his open arms. He pecked my forehead and smiled. We didn't discuss the recital-we had no need to. I knew he was proud of me and he knew I was proud of him.

"Neji?" I asked, turning in his embrace to face him.

"Hm?"

"Where do we go from here? I mean, we have one more day, which by the way, we are having a slumber party for and you're going whether you like it or not, and I need to know what we are."

He looked me deep in the eye and rested his forehead against mine.

"Tenten, when I first met you, I found you fascinating. I hated you , but I was attracted to you. I never would have predicted how I feel about you."

"What are you telling me this for?"

"What I'm trying to say is that life throws so many unexpected turns at you and you never know where it will take you. I think that if we were destined to be together, it will happen. So we won't worry about it. After camp, we can keep riding this wave of romance together and see where it takes us, if you want."

I smiled and kissed him straight on the mouth. "I'd like that."

**A/N: THIS IS NOT THE END! I have one or two more chapters, so it's getting close! But I'm not sure where to take InoChouji… should they break up or not…. hmmm…..**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

After the crowd dispersed, everyone made their way back to their suites, wanting to grab their pajamas before joining Temari, Ino, Dei, and I in our sleepover. The four of us meandered back to our suite, chatting aimlessly along the way.

"That went pretty well…" Deidara said, her cheeks tinted a light pink. And I knew why. Just after my performance- three groups before hers- I caught the blonde in a heated moment of passion with Sasori backstage, their hands being places that I didn't want to know. Upon hurried and frantic questioning, I found out that the red-head had broken up with his girlfriend, defying his father and getting disowned in the process, to be with Deidara.

"Yeah, though it was pretty funny seeing Ino all covered with the flowers her parents and Chouji sent her." Temari nudged the other blonde, earning a playful shove, "By the way, what do you think you're going to do about that? You said you were thinking about breaking it off?"

The platinum blonde shook her head and shrugged, confusion and guilt clouding her face. "I'm not good enough for him."

"Bullshit!" I exclaimed, rubbing her back, "You're wonderful!"

She shook her head even harder, "No, I'm not! I'm a whore! Always have been and always will be. Before him, I was a whore, and no matter how much I tried to hold back, even with him, I'm a whore!"

Stunned by her excited response, the two blondes and I stopped to stare. It was a full minute before anyone said anything, the four of us just standing in the cold, dark night staring at each other. Ino's face was bright red as she sputtered, trying to cover up what she just said.

"Ino…" Temari said softly, laying a comforting arm around the younger girl and prompting the group to move forward, into the dorm building and out of the cold air, "What happened?"

"I- I cheated on Chouji."

The three of us gasped lightly at the confession and Temari held Ino in her arms, though she looked a little disappointed.

"Why?" I asked, voicing the question that no one else dared to. "With who?"

She looked up at me, eyes slightly red and sniffled a little. "I didn't mean to, it just happened so fast! He just came on to me, and my hormones just kind of went crazy! I-I regretted it immediately after and I- I just don't know!" She sputtered, frantic to try and explain herself.

"Who was it, though?" Deidara asked, eyes shining with concern.

"K-Kiba." Ino hung her head in shame.

"Oh, Ino," The three of us seemed to sigh at the same time. Said girl hiccupped in Temari's arms.

"Is this why you want to end things with Chouji?"

She nodded, "He deserves a girl who would treat him right. One who won't let her hormones go out of control. Better than me."

It was silent for a moment, and, without addressing the tense silence, Deidara ushered us up to our suite, on the grounds that we needed to get cleaned up before everyone arrived. In the elevator up to the dorm, the three of us comforted Ino, not condoning her actions, but offering advice as to what to do.

"You need to tell him," I said, rubbing her back, "And let him decide whether he deserves better or not. I know it's going to be hard, but you need to let him decide."

Ino nodded and wiped her eyes, her actions telling us that she no longer wanted to talk about it.

When we reached our dorm room, Sakura and Sasuke were already waiting, both in pajamas and making out in front of Temari and I's door. Ino rolled her eyes and pulled the two apart, reverting back to her old self. The rest of us took the hint and would not speak of her mistake again.

We invited the two lovebirds in and the four of us scurried to get changed and organized before anyone else showed up. While changing clothes, Temari shoved Sasuke into the corner and demanded he close his eyes. He grunted that he had seen a girl's body before, eyeing Sakura. Temari punched him.

After about ten minutes, almost everyone had shown up. The only ones missing were the Akatsuki, aside from Sasori, Gaara and Kankuro. I half laid in Neji's arms, feeling comfortable in his warmth, and played with his long hair. Looking around, I noticed Sakura and Sasuke cuddling, Naruto being fed cup ramen by Hinata, Shikamaru napping on Temari's lap, and Deidara and Sasori in a sweet embrace. Lee was just reading in his own corner, feeling slightly awkward amongst all the couples.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door, which disturbed the sereneness of the scene. Lee looked relieved at the interruption and I pried myself away from Neji to open the door. Almost immediately, I was greeted by the rambunctious Akatsuki, with Hidan in the front. He swept me up in a bone crushing hug and did not let go until he heard Neji's protective growl. He rolled his eyes and put me down.

"Hackles down, bro. I ain't fucking her."

Neji looked murderous.

As everyone wandered into our room, I counted heads. It looked like everyone was finally here. I gave Kankuro a high five as he walked by and swept Gaara up into a hug. He looked slightly uncomfortable. Almost immediately after I closed the door, I felt Neji's arms snake around my waist and his long hair tickled my neck.

"Relax." I said, feeling his tense shoulders, "We're just friends."

He did as I asked and we made our way back through the crowded room. Temari put in some music and I silently thanked the gods that our rooms were sound proof. It didn't take long for everyone to start feeling comfortable around each other, mingling and messing around, as teenagers do. Before long, everyone had split up into pairs, going off to different rooms. Sakura and Sasuke were the first to go, as expected, slipping out to. presumably, have sex in his dorm. Ino was next, sneaking out with the two lovebirds to spend the night in Sakura's empty dorm. She didn't want to be tempted to hook up with another guy. Deidara, after a while, said she felt crowded and pulled Sasori through the bathroom and into her dorm, where from they did not emerge again. Once Sasori and Deidara left, the rest of the Akatsuki decided to go, with violent protests from the rest of us. They really were the life of the party. On his way out, probably to spite Neji, Hidan messed up my hair and kissed me on the cheek, telling me to keep in touch with the rest of them. Neji growled at that and the Akatsuki quickly left. Surprisingly, Lee and Kankuro left together, talking about doing some running exercises. I sensed a wonderful bromance coming on. Feeling a little awkward amongst all the couples, Gaara had left alone soon after. But not before a word of warning to both Shikamaru and Neji to treat his sisters, both blood related and not, right.

With just Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, Temari, Neji, and I left, the party quickly died down.

"This wasn't much of a sleepover, was it?" I asked, giggling slightly.

"Well, it sort of was… Just not all together. I mean, Sasori and Dei are sleeping over, Sakura and Sasuke, and such, you know?" Temari reasoned, looking sleepy and cuddling into Shikamaru's chest.

"I can't believe it's already been a month… What are we going to do from here? I mean, aside from Temari and Shikamaru, none of us go to the same school." Hinata looked concerned and held onto Naruto as if it was her last chance to do so.

"We'll keep in touch! Everyone has phone numbers and a good number of us can drive! I promise we will." Naruto assured his girlfriend, unusually calming. Everyone smiled and let that be good enough. Soon, we had all fallen asleep.

oO0Oo

Before we knew it, it was time to go. Neji, who could drive, offered to send me home, and I accepted. We were saying our last goodbyes and I took one last look at the camp. Although I was planning on coming back next summer, I sure was going to miss this place. Scanning the parking lot for people I recognized, I found Ino crying in Chouji's arms, the chubby boy stroking her head and looking slightly hurt, though forgiving. I smiled at the resolved conflict. Hinata and Naruto were going to ride with us, in the back, seeing as Hinata lived with Neji and Naruto needed a ride.

"Tenten!"

I spun around just in time to see a flash of pink and feel the impact of Sakura tackling me to the ground. Her eyes were red and I could see that she had been crying.

"I'm gonna miss you so much!"

Laughing a little, I patted her head and tried to comfort her, promising to keep in touch. It took ten minutes to pry her arms off of me and another five foe Sasuke to lead her away. I waved and felt myself tearing up as well.

I took one last look around and saw Temari and Shikamaru talking with Deidara and Sasori. Pulling the Hyuugas and Naruto along with me, I approached them, finding both the girls a bit teary eyed as well.

"Sakura got to you to, huh?" Dei asked, wiping a tear away.

"Yeah." I laughed.

The three of us hugged and separated, exchanging phone numbers and crying.

"Wait." Deidara said, with a light smirk on her face, "There is something I want to do."

And, leaving us slightly confused, she had Sasori, with a knowing smile on his face, help her onto the top of the Akatsuki's van and stood tall. Konan emerged from the van and tossed a microphone up to the blonde who smiled and nodded in thanks. She tapped the microphone and the sound resounded through the lot, probably from amps that were inside the vehicle. The taps grabbed everyone's attention and Tsunade started making her way towards us, set on making Dei get down. Anko intercepted her and gave us a wink, and I realized she was in on it as well.

"Excuse me, I'd like to have everyone's attention."

Dei's melodious voice grabbed the attention of everyone left in front of the School. Sasori inched away from us and in front of the van. Dei jumped down from the hood and stood next to Sasori, smiling widely.

"I'd just like to say, to all the close minded men out there, who think being transgender is unnatural, that I saw more naked chicks than you. That's right, I used to be a fucking man! Aiaiaiaiaiai!"

And with that wild cry, she was swooped up by Sasori and into the van, which promptly drove away from the gasps and protests. There was even a Coke bottle thrown at the spot where the van used to be.

"Well, that was amusing."

I turned around and saw Anko with a smirk on her face. Immediately, I threw my arms around her, and surprisingly, she hugged back. When I pulled away, she wagged a finger at me playfully.

"Now, you'd better keep practicing well, or I'll hear of it. Understand? Maggot?"

I laughed a little and nodded.

_She really wasn't as bad as they made her out to be._ I thought as she ran into Kakashi's arms.

Temari and I said our last goodbyes and, with that, I got into Neji's car and he started to drive me home.

The ride was silent, but not uncomfortable, with Naruto and Hinata in the backseat cuddling and enjoying each other's company for as long as they could. When he pulled up my driveway, I could see my mother and father standing on the porch, just waiting for my arrival. After unbuckling my seatbelt, I hesitated, looking at Neji, who nodded at me, telling me to go. I grabbed his hand and he nodded in understanding, unbuckling his own seatbelt. We both exited the car and I ran into my mother's arms. I had missed them more than I'd expected. After some time, when my mother finally pulled away, I greeted my father, and walked to Neji, who was standing uncomfortably to the side. I grabbed his hand and pulled him to meet my parents. My mother looked pleasantly surprised and my father looked protective, albeit happy that I finally was acting like a teenage girl.

"Mom, Dad, this is Neji. He's my…" I trailed off, not knowing what we were, as he never gave me a confirmation.

"I'm her boyfriend." He finished for me, looking at me gently and squeezing my hand. My mother squealed and my father started on a tirade of threats and warnings. When he had finished, he smiled, clapped Neji on the shoulder , and told him to treat me well. My boyfriend nodded, excused himself from my parents' presence, kissed me, and left to drive Naruto, then himself and Hinata home.

_Neji is my boyfriend_ I thought to myself as my mother squealed on about how happy she was, _Who would have thunk it?_

**A/N: Whew! I finished my first multichapter story! Thank you all for sticking with me, and I hope to write even more. :)**


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